For Who Could Ever Love A Beast?
by Allielove95
Summary: Rumplestiltskin is the most feared and powerful man in all the land, much to his son Baelfire's dismay. While Belle, due to her dark past is locked in a tower, awaiting the day where someone will set her free... perhaps someone she never expected. Can love conquer all? Even deadly enemies? My take on what it would be like if Rumple never lost Bae and there was never a curse.
1. A Lonely Life

**Hey everyone! I started to write this specific fic because I always wonder what the storyline of Once Upon A Time would be like if Rumple never lost Bae and there was never a curse. I plan on this story being about 25-30 chapters long and I plan on updating every chapter ASAP. Disclaimer: I only wish I owned Ouat and all the characters belong to ABC. Fill free to leave reviews to let me know what you think! Happy reading !**

* * *

The Orges war had destroyed everything. It had caused the kingdom of Avonlea to come crashing down in flames, dragging its royal family along with it. After Lord Maurice's death, his only daughter and heir to the throne, Princess Belle, was left alone with her back against a wall.

Her people were dying, with their castle and legacy dying along with them. Her fiancé, Sir Gaston, had concluded that war was no place for a princess and had sent her away to live out her days in an isolated tower across the sea for her own protection.

Well at least that is what he had told everyone when they asked questions about her sudden disappearance.

Both Gaston and Belle knew the truth regarding the situation and neither of them dared to talk about it, ever. She absolutely never wanted to see that thick chinned brute ever again after what he did to her. He treated her poorly, not as a princess should be treated, but instead, like a girl who held no value at all to him.

Now, she was no longer a princess, nor a Lords daughter, she was nothing. The Beauty hopes and dreams were ripped away from her, only to spend the rest of her days stuck in an isolated tower in the middle of nowhere. It was all Gaston's fault, he sat on the throne, while people continued to adore him, completely ignorant of his true nature.

She was forcefully sent to the tower, to rot and live out her days. Her days had become weeks, her weeks had turned into months, while months faded into years.

Belle's bright blue eyes traced the walls and the various handmade scratch marks on the stone walls marking her days she had spent in the tower.

She took a deep inhale and walked over to the windowsill, releasing her held breath into a long defeated sigh.

Three years it had been. Three whole years since she had been taken away from everything she had ever known, and was locked away until the day when someone would come and rescue her.

Her father had died in battle fighting off the ogres, leaving Belle utterly alone and miserable. He was all she had left of her family, and without him, she was lost. Usually Belle was left with nothing but to reflect and live on past memories of her father, even sometimes of Gaston, the way he had treated her, then cast her out like she was suddenly of no value to him... but Belle didn't like to ponder on those thoughts. They had only ever brought her pain and added on to her current state of misery.

The only joy she had gotten out of her day was when she relaxed cuddling warm blankets on her bed and got hopelessly lost in one of her books. Belle would truly get lost in a story, so lost that when the story was over, the darkness and loneliness of her current life set in.

The Beauty enjoyed spending her nights reading her books, dreaming of the day when she would finally be able to be free of this isolated tower. However, after three years, books began to no longer satisfy her appetite for adventure. She dreamt of heroics and tales of courage, knights in shining armour defeating the ferocious beast.

Her true love was out there somewhere, and she knew it certainly was not Sir Gaston of Avonlea. In fact she would rather prefer to love one of the farmers pigs then to ever go back to that man.

Only time would be able to reveal what fate awaited for this certain princess, but Belle was never a fan of being patient.

She sighed deeply trying to relax herself, her tight golden dress flowed along the tower floor as she stared out into the dark night. She watched the dim glow of the sunset fade and disappear behind the lush mountains.

Belle dragged her feet over to the stone wall and carved another line declaring another day had gone by. While the once bright sun faded, as did her hope of ever getting out her tower.

* * *

The children had cheered. They cheered for Rumplestiltskin for they were finally free from the horrid battle field of the ogre wars.

He had led the children back home safely to their parents, knowing they would all be reunited with them, like Baelfire was to him now.

Safe.

His son Bae was safe and that was all that mattered. He had gained power for him, stabbed another being for the curse of being the Dark One all so Bae would be with him always. Rumplestiltskin always protected what was his, and nothing meant more to him then his son.

The ogre war was finally over and the land seemed to be at peace... or so everyone thought. Days after Rumplestiltskin had become the Dark One, he had changed, and everyone in their small village had noticed it, including his fourteen year old son, Baelfire.

At first Rumplestiltskin was recognized as a hero, stopping the ogres war and bringing harmony to the land. However, as time passed, Rumplestiltskin had become so deeply seduced by his own power, he became the most powerful man in the whole realm and he meant to keep it that way. Everyone in the village feared the beast he had become and quivered with even the utterance of his evil name.

Most days Baelfire would just stay at home in their small peasant house, drawing or painting alone. On occasion he would escort his father to town where he saw groups of people whisper together as they walked by, their eyes filled with fear and discomfort.

Bae walked alongside his father, noticing a small group of children playing nearby. He pretended not to notice, hoping his father wouldn't either.

"Bae, why don't you go play with the other children?" Rumple asked his son encouragingly, gesturing towards the group of children around his son's age.

Bae hesitated and looked down at his feet. The other children were too scared of Rumplestiltskin to even interact with Bae nonetheless want to be friends with him.

"I think I will just stay here." He replied softly, reverting his gaze from his father's.

He couldn't imagine what the other kids were thinking about with the look of fear on their faces. They probably recalled past incidents where Rumplestiltskin had publically turned someone into a snail then crushed them underneath his strong boot. It was no surprise that they were afraid to play with such a mans only son.

Rumplestilskin had become a monster, someone everyone feared and was more beast then man now. Due to his constant deal-making and use of dark magic, Rumplestiltskin had soon obtained a large amount of wealth. They would no longer have to stay in that horrid peasant home, haunted by past memories of Milah and resentment, instead they would live somewhere that was suited for an all powerful Dark One.

"I bought you a present, Bae" Rumplestiltskin spoke with pride to his son.

"What kind of present?" He questioned skeptically, recalling all the terrible gifts his father had given him, mostly stolen objects from other innocent helpless peasants.

"Well, it is for the both of us actually." Then without notice, Rumple poofed his son to a large valley where a large stone castle lay.

"This is our new home, Bae. We never ever have to go back to that village again." He smiled proudly looking for a reaction from his son.

"Do we really need all this, Papa?" Baelfire asked, admiring the shining large castle in the distance, surrounded by miles of forest.

"Of course, son. You only deserve the best."

Baelfire smiled to please his father, but still didn't understand why they needed a home this extravagant. He toured the large castle and settled his things upstairs in one of the dozens of rooms. It was an adjustment that would take some getting used to, the castle was gigantic with endless rooms and places to explore, which kept Bae occupied for most of the day.

After months of living in the castle, the only time he had ever left the castle was when he would go out walking while his father was doing "business".

Sometimes, when Rumplestiltskin wasn't dealing he would accompany his son on the stroll and they would talk, but today seemed different. This time Baelfire accompanied his father to a rather small house on the outskirts of their very large property.

Baelfire waited outside patiently, as told by his father. he passed the time by twirling the grass he had picked. Then as his father emerged from the house, Bae became immediately appalled when he aproached him with blood on his boots and stains on the rims of his pants.

"What happened?" Baelfire questioned his father, concerned At the sight of the blood.

"We need to find a new maid." Rumplestiltskin confessed to his son, with a childlike appeal to his murderous confession.

Baelfire's expression grew disgusted at Rumplestiltskin.

"Papa she didn't need to be killed, why would you do that?"

"I was sure she heard us talking about the dagger A couple days ago!" He objected innocently, pretending to be the victim in the situation.

"She was a mute! She couldn't tell anyone!" Baelfire protested.

"Even mutes can draw a picture." A childish grin came across his face with hope of forgiveness.

Bae shook his head with disbelief at his father's ruthless actions. He didn't speak another word to his father for quite sometime, angry because dark magic was taking over him. Rumplestiltskin's dagger was a subject they hardly talked about, yet Bae couldn't help but be curious about the mystery surrounding the dangerous weapon.

On the walk home, questions filled young Bae's mind on his fathers most treasured possession.

"What happens if someone gets a hold of your dagger?" Bae asked confused about the subject his father rarely ever talked about.

Rumple seemed hesitant and reluctant to answer his sons burning question, but the he answered slowly his voice trying to simplify the technicalities of his curse.

"They are able to control me, and all my power along with it. That's why no one must know about it."

"Where have you hidden it?" He asked.

"In a very special place, buried under one of the willow trees in-" Rumple trailed off his sentance, slightly distracted by something then returned to his explanation.

"That's why being the Dark One has its disadvantages.. If anyone were to ever know about it-"

Suddenly they both became aware of a noise, a loud noise coming from a nearby tall tower.

"What's that?" Baelfire questioned, scanning in all directions, then finally settling his gaze upon the tall tower that sat in the middle of the forest.

Rumplestiltskin looked betrayed and above all... Angry. Someone had most likely been listening and hearing the conversation about the dagger. He would have to kill yet another person to keep his secret hidden, but that was something The Dark One could manage without any remorse.

Rumple followed the sound, Bae padding cautiously beside him until they reach the isolated stone tower.

"Wait here." Rumple told Bae sternly and began to walk away from him.

Bae instantly grabbed his fathers arm tight and held him back.

"I won't just stand by and let you kill innocent person. I bet they didn't even hear us talking." He pleaded, attempting to reason with Rumplestiltskin.

"I'll do what I must to keep my secret hidden."

"Papa, I beg you!" Bae called, but he was too late.

A cloud of purple smoke surrounded Rumplestilskin, transporting him up into the top of the tower to enable him to kill the person who may of heard them speaking of the only weapon that was able to kill him, his dagger.


	2. Deal With A Desperate Soul

Belle growled with discontent as she threw objects and small pieces of furniture viciously at the stone wall, allowing her anger to be harshly released in a her own childish way.

"Its your fault!" She screamed throwing the innocent objects all over the place in her blind rage. She cursed the name of her fiancé who was responsible for putting her in this horrid tower in the first place.

"If that marriage was never arranged I would not be in this mess!" She yelled angrily to herself, brushing a hand through her brown curls in frustration, pulling at her scalp.

She had days like this before, some days were worse than others, but the feelings of loneliness and defeat starting to settle in, which scared her. Was she doomed to spend the rest of her life miserable and alone like this? Trapped like an animal in a cage? For a moment her eyes flashed to the open window. Thoughts of ending her life had rarely crossed her mind, yet they were still there on her darkest days. She had too much to live for and Belle was many things, but never a quitter.

Eventually the raging energy escaped her body as she sat defeated on the large bed, placing her head into a soft pillow and let out a deep sigh of defeat.

"Sleeping won't solve your problems, dearie." A impish voice echoed throughout the tower.

"But I will." He finished, chuckling childishly. He would solve all her pitiful problems.. with death of course. He thought of the different ways he could do away with her, but when Rumplestiltskin finally met the gaze of the young woman he was taken back.

He saw the redness of the womans eyes as tears fell down her soft rosey cheeks as her bright blue eyes grew wide with alarm.

She was beautiful.

"How did you get in here?" The Beauty questioned, attempting to wipe her pitiful tears off her face, feeling rather violated by this sudden intruder.

"The way I get everything I want, magic." The Dark One spoke, his words clear and crisp, creating a hand gesture to go along with his tone of voice.

Still weary from the visit from the rather intimidating intruder, Belle sat on her bed backing away from the imp.

"Why are you here?" She demanded through her ruby red lips.

Rumplestiltskin then realizing that this girl had heard nothing of his and Bae's revealing conversation, reconsidered his original plan to dispose of the girl. A new idea popped into his head. Instead of her cries of mercy he would make a deal, and If there was anything the dark one couldn't resist, it was a deal with a desperate soul.

"You're in luck." He adressed her with a twisted smile, hissing through his lips.

"How so?" Belle seemed almost annoyed.

"I'll make you a deal. I can get you out of this tower. I can see you are merely a damsel in distress, and though rescuing damsels is not my forte I can give it a try." Rumple smiled childishly and let out a giggle.

"What's the catch?" Belle raised an eyebrow.

He smirked then walked a little closer towards the beauty, who remained sitting on the bed, her eyes locked on to the dangerous monster.

"In return for your freedom from this tower, you must come with me, forever." Rumplestiltskin spoke.

"Forever?" Belle repeated, feeling a horrible feeling in her stomach.

"Forever is an awfully long time. What could you possibly want with me?" She spoke her voice almost as low as a whisper.

"Funny you should ask, I'm in need of a new maid. Our last maid.. Well let's just say she had a little accident." He grinned devilishly showing off his toothy smile.

"So what do you say?" Rumplestiltskin raised an eyebrow curiously awaiting an answer from the beauty.

Belle's mind raced with confusion. She had heard about the Dark One before, a dangerous man he was, but for the two years she had been in this terrible place she had wanted nothing but to get out, and now she could. However reality hit her like a ton of bricks as she snapped back into focus.

She shook her head with disagreement.

"Ive been in this tower for a long time. Even though things are looking bad now I know everything will turn out okay. Everyone deserves a happy ending and mine is just postponed for a while. Someone will come for me one day to get me out of this tower."

"And who would that be?" Rumple raised an eyebrow.

'My true love" Belle declared openly.

Rumplestiltskin snorted at her words with disgust. His attention turned to the piles of books that lay all around the tower.

"You read too many books dearie. There is no one coming for you." He said harshly.

Belle was appalled by his cruel response, but perhaps the imp was right. What if the dream some one to rescue her was all a fantasy, one that would never come true. Now his words echoed in the back of her mind, seducing her thoughts.

The temptation was too alluring, sure she would be captive once more, but at least now she would be able to see more than this vile tower.

"You'll get me out of here?" She asked reassuring his promise.

"You have my word." The Beast promised, bowing down slightly in front of the confused girl.

"Then you have mine. I will come with you..." Belle choked out the last word, her boice no higher then a nervous whisper.

"Forever."

"Excellent!" He nearly squealed with delight, then took a short bow towards Belle.

"How rude of me, we have not been properly introduced." He realised.

"Rumplestiltskin" His name rolled off his tongue like a cats purr, as he took a low bow towards the Beauty.

"I'm Belle"

Belle. A pretty name, well fitted for her looks, he observed.

"Shall we get going then?" He pitched, giving her very short notice before he snapped his fingers and they disappeared into a swirl of magical purple smoke.

They reappeared at the bottom of the tower, with Belle gasping for air feeling overwhelmingly dizzy.

"Oh, Did I not tell you to hold your breath?" Rumple giggled playfully noticing his new caretakers rather sickly condition.

She looked up for a moment then leaned over and vomited on the long grass nearby.

Baelfire stood astonished at the sight.

"You didn't kill her!" He outbursted with relief as his face filled with joy that his father had not done away with another innocent victim.

Belle glanced up from her sickly state.

"Kill me?!" She croaked with confusion then made another gagging noise, her head covered in the long thick grass hidden from both of them to see her.

Ignoring the girl, Rumple turned to his son with a smile upon his face.

"Good news, I found us a new maid, Bae." Rumple gestured towards the brown haired beauty.

"She doesn't look too good." Bae noticed, as Belle wiped her long dark auburn hair out of her face, stood up and brushed her long dress off, straightened herself up with the little dignity she had left.

"She looks like a princess." Baelfire observed, as he examined her expensive golden garments she wore.

Belle stepped towards them, her dress catching bits of snow at the bottom of her hem.

"I am.. Well I was long ago." Belle's voice trailed off in a haze. Her stare became like crystal glass, imagining the old life she used to have. The castle, the endless rooms, the meals, the royal dresses she would get on special occasion from her father.

Her father. Oh how she missed him. He would never have let,**_Sir Gaston,_** put her in that horrid tower. Then stuck in her own thoughts, she realized the young boy staring up at her with his big brown innocent eyes. Now observing the world around her, it felt strange being outside after such a long time of being held captive by four concrete walls. Being outside and reunited with the cold fresh air and lush forest only made Belle realize that she was a stranger to the world.

The snow was piled up high, almost up to her knee, causing her to shiver a little. Her mind began to wander off again as it often did, but before she could get to deep into thought Belle was interrupted by a young voice.

"How did you get in the tower?" Bae asked, but was immediately after was hushed by Rumplestiltskin.

"It's a long story." Belle looked at her feet around the touchy subject, in which she attempted to try and change the conversation.

"Here." Rumplestiltskin placed the baskets of straw they had gotten in town into the hands of Belle. She couldn't believe how incredibly heavy it was as she fought to keep it above her knees.

"I feel like walking back to the dark castle today, don't you son?" He smirked, taunting Belle and taking his place ahead of her, walking along with Baelfire.

Son. Rumplestiltskin had a son, for being a supposed dangerous man, he sure was full of surprises. Then she scoffed at the brutal task he had asked a lady to do.

"Some gentleman you are." Belle muttered under her breath just loud enough for him to hear.

"No, not a gentleman. Not at all actually, just a beast." He spat, his voice cold with no emotion behind it.

"You better get used to chores if you don't want to end up like our last maid." He hissed angrily through his teeth.

Belle gulped, adjusting her hold on the baskets of straw as she trailed behind the beast and his son through the thick sheets of snow.

What had she just gotten herself into?

**So I thought I would post the first 2 chapters together because they start the story in motion. I am really excited to write this storyline and have most of the story planned out already. We will find out in later chapters why Gaston put Belle in the tower and reveal her past that she tries so hard to forget. Thanks for reading! Every review is greatly appreciated and absolutely makes my day! :) so review and let me know what you think so far!**


	3. Nightmares and New Beginnings

When they arrived at the Dark Castle Belle was amazed by the size of it. It was twice the size of her old castle in Avonlea and it was certainly larger then the tower she had been cramped in for the past three years. Beautiful green vines grew up various sides of the gray stone, blossoming small cherry red flowers and a large fountain splashed in front of the entrance.

The inside of the castle proved to be even more beautiful. As she marched behind Rumplestiltskin through the many hallways, she admired all the fancy decor and displays which hung on each side of the wall. Most décor shimmered with gold and bright shiny silver, indicating Rumplestiltskin's infinite amount of wealth. They passed a glass case filled with antique items and inside lay two of the creepiest dolls Belle had ever seen, sending a harsh shiver down her spine.

"Where are you taking me? She called out innocently, pacing a couple steps to catch up with him.

A smug curve formed on the Beast's lips.

"Lets call it.. Your room." He said through his evil grin.

Curiosity filled Belle's mind with thoughts of what an extravagant bedroom would await her in her new home. Would it have a view? Decorated furniture to her liking? A smile almost came upon her lips at the thought that she was no longer was trapped by the walls of her tower.

Rumplestiltskin stopped suddenly, causing belle to clumsily bump into him, her mind still in an absent minded state. The Beast let out a slight hiss of annoyance then gestured left to a small cell awaiting her, it's barred grey doors open wide.

"This is my room!?" Belle questioned, horrified.

"Well it sounds a lot better then dungeon." The imp giggled as he shoved her in the cell, locking the door behind him, then disappeared to another location within the castle.

"Hello?" Belle yelled to the silence. "You can't just leave me in here! Hello?! Hello?!"

* * *

Baelfire awaited his father upstairs in his bedroom, anxious of what had become of the princess in the tower. Bae had spent most of his time in his room, playing or drawing by himself. He couldn't make a friend if his life depended on it, because he was the Dark One's son.

When Rumple did show up to his sons room he sat beside him on the comfortable bed, noticing Baelfire's troublesome expression.

"You are happy here aren't you Bae?"

"Well I suppose." Bae trailed off. "But do we really need all of this?"

"Of course, you only deserve the best." Rumple explained.

Baelfire said nothing and gave his father a false smile of reassurance that he was happy here. Truly Baelfire didn't need the new castle, the money, the power, all he truly wanted was his father back.

"Well I'll let you get some sleep." Rumple spoke, the another thought crossed his mind.

"Have you been still having those nightmares?" Rumple turned around facing his son once more, his face painted with fatherly concern.

Bae nodded his head slightly.

"It's always the same one." He began hesitantly, recalling the vivid image that corrupted his peaceful slumber.

"I'm standing in our old village and there is a woman, she has dark hair, but she has no face. She grabs me and that's when the creature comes.

"Creature?" Rumple repeated with a tone of confused disbelief.

"What kind of creature?"

"One with fangs and long batted wings it's eyes as red as the blood that drips from its mouth." Baelfire's voice became shaky just thinking about the terrible nightmare.

"It is only a dream, son."

"But it seems so real, like I am right there next to the monster." Bae explained, frustrated because he couldn't describe the feeling he had while dreaming of the fearsome nightmare. It was so real, that when he awoke, he would be drenched in sweat and his blankets would be across his bedroom.

Rumple bent down and kissed the top of Baelfire's hair and tucked part of the blanket underneath his sons arm.

"I'll send the maid to get you some tea in a bit, perhaps that will help you sleep better." He spoke softly, bidding his son goodnight.

Rumplestiltskin then made his way down to the dungeon where he had left his new distressed wench. The closer he became to the cell the more he could hear the sound of crying, it was the girl. It was unsettling to his ears the cries- no, _sobs_ of this girl.

He barged into her cell unexpectedly, startling the Beauty once more. She immediately wiped the tears from her cheeks, blew her nose then stood up to face him.

"I have chores I wish you to do for me." He requested ignoring her state of distress.

At first the Beauty hesitated to respond, but then she followed him up into the main dining hall where Rumplestiltskin then sat at the head of the large table. He gestured towards his tea set which she picked up and brought the expensive looking tray to him, placing it down on the dark wooden table.

"You will feed us our meals and clean the dark castle." Belle nodded picking up the fragile kettle and pouring some tea into a cup for him.

"You shall do whatever you are asked whenever we want it, launder our clothing and oh! Skin the other children I hunt for their pelt."

As Belle reached to hand him the tea cup, she dropped it in shock at his startling request.

"That was a quip, not serious." He giggled childishly at her mistake.

He watched Belle as she nervously picked up the cup and became teary eyed when she saw it was chipped in the corner. Her brown curls covered her face as she looked down at the chipped cup.

"I'm so sorry... But it is chipped." Her mouth became dry which caused her to swallow. When he said nothing in return Belle held up the cup in his direction.

"I mean you can hardly see it." She assured, allowing herself to get up off the floor.

Rumple looked amused at the whole situation.

"It's just a cup." He said plainly, acknowledging her shy nervousness.

Belle then placed the chipped cup on the tray and fixed herself up straight.

"Right." She whispered thinking how stupid she was for thinking he would punish her for breaking a silly cup.

However, he still was the dark one, she honestly had no idea what to expect, or what he wanted from her. One thing lingered in Belle's mind that seemed rather strange. Even in all of his evil reckless murderous glory, she did not fear him as much as she probably should. Why then did she tremble in his presence?

Once the Beauty had finished with giving him is night tea, she struggled to spit out her words.

"What else do you wish me to do?" She asked not making eye direct contact with him.

"I did have a list for you to do for me, but-" Rumplestiltskin a voice faded into silence.

"My son has been having nightmares. Go and see if he would like some tea, it may help him sleep peacefully tonight."

With that dismissal Belle was already halfway up the staircase with the tea set. She knocked gently at the closed wooden door until she heard a young boys voice call out.

"Who is it?"

Belle stated her name and opened the door very carefully hoping the tea would not spill.

The boy was laying in bed his eyes wide open staring up at the tall ceiling.

"Your father thought maybe some tea would help you sleep tonight." Her words were as soft as a whisper as she made her way into the room.

"Tea would be nice, thank you." He responded.

Baelfire sat up in his bed as the maid approached him and placed a teacup on his bed side. She poured the tea with ease and stirred some honey in it with a small spoon.

"Your father told me that you have been having nightmares." She spoke, handing him the newly poured hot tea.

Bae nodded taking a small sip out of the cup.

"Everyone has bad dreams sometimes. I've had them since I was a girl, even to this day I still have the same horrific nightmares." She attempted to comfort the child and make conversation.

"What is yours about?" He asked curiously.

"All I can remember is this monstrous creature, with teeth like razors and red eyes." Belle confided to the young boy looking down at the ground, trying to remember the description of the creature.

"Oh, and it had these wings that were shaped like a-"

"Pair of bat wings" Baelfire finished her sentence, which left Belle in awe.

"Yeah, how did you know?" She asked, with a faint laugh of confusion.

Bae looked around the room and gulped, his brown eyes flashing with fear.

"Because I've been having the same dream."

Belle shook her head, she meant to help the boy, not scare him even more.

"I don't think we could of had the same dream, that's impossible."

"Not impossible." Bae spoke, placing down his cup of tea.

"Does the creature make a terrible screeching noise?" He asked her, desperate for an answer.

Her heart felt as if it had gone into her stomach. She remembered the sounds it had made, like sharp long nails on a metal board. Then Belle shook herself out of letting the boy persuade her thoughts from logic. Her job was to comfort and calm him down, not to put frightening ideas in his head.

"Don't fret about that nightmare, everyone has bad dreams once in a while. They are just apart of your imagination, no monster can hurt you." She stated.

"Thank you, Belle." He spoke.

"For what?"

"Keeping me company and making me feel better."

"If my company is that appreciated, you're very welcome." Belle said softly giving him a warm motherly smile while walked towards the door.

"Goodnight, Belle." He called out to her.

"Goodnight."

Belle closed his door quietly behind her and walked back down to the main floor. He had described every bit of her dream in detail back to her, which spooked the Beauty greatly. The thing was, Belle still often dreamed that nightmare even to this day.

Was it possible? Had the son of the Dark One been having exactly the same nightmare as she had since she was a child?

The same deathly monster had stalked them at night, it's mouth watering with hunger for them. Belle felt a harsh shiver run down the course of her spine at the near thought of it. She then brushed off the terrorizing thoughts and logic came into her brain. They were only simple dreams that had no meaning, everyone has nightmares. It was insane- impossible even to consider that they were the same one and it meant anything. The only monster she had to worry about right now, was the one that went by the name of Rumplestiltskin.

**Next Chapter - Belle finds herself unhappy and attempts to escape the Dark Castle. She finds herself in a scary situation.. one she may not be able to get out of. Next chapter update will be Monday or Tuesday! Thanks for reading! Review and let me know what you think so far!**


	4. A Big Mistake

**Hey everyone! I've been trying my best to plan out this story how I want it to go.. and for the record Gaston did not sexually assault Belle, he did something else that will be revealed around chapter 9 or 10. I love all the reviews that have been left and want to thank each and every one of you :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you have a comment you want to share. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

The next morning Belle expected to wake up alone in the tower, like she had for the past three years of her life. The dungeon, however, was no improvement. The floor was cold and rough, and it was remarkable that she had gotten any sleep at all.

The sound of heavy footsteps caused her to stir in her light slumber and with reluctance, Belle was awoken by none other than the ferocious Beast himself.

"Rise and shine dearie. I've got a lot for you to do today." The demanding voice echoed through the dungeon.

Belle's eyelashes felt as if they were glued to her bottom ones, she was still half asleep, while she listened to her new employer. She reluctantly got up and stumbled towards the door but fell into the side of the wall still in a sleepy state.

"I'm hungry. I wouldn't count on any housework from a starved maid." She growled under her breath fixing her hair, tying it back in a ponytail.

"Yes yes there will be time for eating- but first put this on" he threw her a blue dress.

"You can't do any work properly in that dress, it's.. it's.." He became lost for words, his mind blanking on him as he searched desperately to finish his sentence.

"Too much like a princess dress." She spoke flatly. "You've made it very clear that I am no longer a figure of royalty.

"Indeed" His voice trailed off while the way he looked her up and down, making Belle rather uncomfortable.

"Now I want you to meet me upstairs in about ten minutes to discuss the chores that need to be done, do you understand?"

Even though his voice was harsh and demanding, the Beauty responded calmly, her bright blue eyes fixed on the new garment she was just given. When Belle looked up to ask another question, the imp was gone.

The dress he had given her had fit her perfectly which made it easier for her to do the daily chores around the castle. In her new blue servant gown, she made her way up the many staircases to the main floor where Rumplestiltskin awaited her in the dining room. He sat at the head of the table, his head held high with pride and smugness. Baelfire sat on the other end of the table his big brown eyes looked up at belle with a warm smile as she approached them.

"The dress fits nicely my dear." Rumplestiltskin observed "You look more like a maid and less like princess now, my dear." he smirked then pointed in the general direction of the castle kitchen.

"You can start making us breakfast now, we are both starving."

Belle gulped at her next chore. He wanted her to cook? She had never cooked a day in her life, even in the tower she only had the basics, bread, water and on every occasion an apple. The thought of her being demanded to make a delicious meal made belles hands shake. Her knees seemed wobbly as she walked into the castle kitchen.

"Maybe cooking isn't as hard as you think" she tried to reassure herself.

On the counter there already lay eggs, fruit and even a jug full of orange juice. Across the counter were tubs of flour sugar and other baking necessities she had no idea what to do with. Belle grabbed a wooden bowl from one of the shelves and placed it in front of her as she took a deep breath in.

She could talk herself through this she had seen her servants do it a thousand times beauty took a cup of flour and dumped it in the bowl along with sugar and some eggs, leaving the eggshells on by mistake. Gradually, she mixed them together adding dashes of cinnamon and a spoonful of honey. She then noticed other small bottles filled with herbs and seasonings. Her eyes spotted a reddish bottle labelled cyan and due to its pretty sounding name she dumped half the bottle into her bowl.

"What's taking that girl so long?" Rumple hissed through his teeth with impatience.

"You don't need to be so mean to her, she helped me sleep last night." Bae spoke up to his father.

"You didn't have your nightmares at all last night?" He asked

Baelfire shook his curly brown head of hair.

"She told me dreams are just imagination and they have no way of hurting us. The really strange thing is that I think Belle and I are having the same-"

Suddenly Belle burst through the door with two large trays in each hand, stopping Baelfire in mid sentence. Her mind was deeply concentrated on not dropping the heavy trays of food. She placed the trays down in front of rumplestiltskin gently, then placed a plate in front of Bae. The breakfast turned out better than she expected, the pancakes seemed round enough, and she had cut fruit all around the plate for a. More appealing presentation.

"Finally" rumple scoffed, sticking a forkful of pancakes into his mouth then pausing for a moment before he immediately spat them out.

"What on earth is this!?" He voice became louder.

"Trying to poison us on your first day?"

Belle shook her head "I didn't mean to, this was the first time that I've ever cooked.. Ever" she admitted.

It was true that there was no need for her to do the duties of servants.. Until now.

Rumple snapped his fingers and then a feast appeared on the table.

"Now this is what breakfast should look like." Rumple perked up with delight at the new meal.

"You Better get to cleaning then. I hope you aren't as useless as you proved this morning" he retorted.

"I'm rather hungry." Belle objected. "I can't clean unless I've eaten." She challenged somewhat angrily at Rumplestiltskin.

"Fine, fine" he obliged, snapping his fingers once more providing her with an apple in her hands.

"Thank you" Belle spoke, taking a large crunch out of the apple, exiting the room, she couldn't take one more minute of that Beast picking her apart like she was nothing. Eventually Belle found a broom and began sweeping and dusting the castle entrance. Tears came to her eyes with thoughts of her old life, and her current horrific position, working like a slave for a monster. Her bright blue eyes travelled to the door, which was unguarded and unlocked.

There was that temptation again in the back part of her mind. She could try and run away from this place and perhaps seek help in a neighbouring village. After all she was a princess, a princess who needed to rule her people opposed to Gaston, who had gained the title of lord of the castle since her father's death. He was selfish and had no good intentions for anyone asides from himself.

The Beauty's eyes turned to the door once more.

Freedom.

It was tempting.

However if she were to fail, what would he do to her? Some kind of torture and punishment would await her, but if she escaped, she could finally have her life back again and make up for all the years it had been robbed from her.

Her feet stepped closer and closer to the door until her arm pushed on the cold metal. It creaked loudly, exposing the outside world. It was winter, she could tell from the day he had brought her to this place. Snow had covered everything like a big sheet of white blankets.

The nearest village was about a five hour journey on foot, she would have to be fast, fast enough to outrun a beast.

Then the adrenaline kicked in. Belle ran, her blue dress bouncing off of her legs, the wind blowing through her curly head of hair. The cold was deceiving, what didn't seem like much at first seemed to caress her entire body forcing her to let out a harsh shiver. She found herself in the woods now, the dark castle was out of sight, she hoped it was the last time she ever saw that horrid place ever again. Though it was mid morning, the forest was dark, the trees were so thick that barely and snow had managed to fall on the terrain.

"Well, what do we have here?" A masculine voice boomed behind her.

She froze.

Three tall men stood amongst her dressed heavily in winter clothing, all with a wide grin on their face.

"What is a pretty face like yours doing out in the forest all alone?" One of them asked.

Belle didn't answer, she was so stunned and rattled to even take a step.

"It's cold out here love and all you have is such a lovely tight little dress to wear, what a pity." Another man added never taking his stare of the beauty.

"It's easier to get her out of isn't that right sheriff?" The man looked up to his boss, the sheriff of Nottingham, who seemed to not even notice the joke that was just made. The sheriff came closer and closer until he had Belle by the tops of her shoulders.

"Feels like you could use a little warming up." The sheriff chuckled his mouth uncomfortably close to Belle's face. She pushed him back in disgust taking steps back from all the men.

"You all are pigs." She retorted "I'm Princess Belle of Avonlea and my guards will becoming for me any minute." She lied trying to get them to back off and leave her around.

They all laughed at the lady's defence.

"I don't believe that at all. Your peasant dress tells me otherwise, wench." The sheriff came at her again pinning her against a tree, making Belle shudder while moving her face away from the sheriffs terrible alcohol breath.

"Get off of me" Belle demanded.

"Or what?" The sheriff breathed in the scent of her hair.

"Or you'll have to deal with me" A familiar male voice growled deeply.

Even before Belle turned to face whoever had stood up to these scum of men, she knew who the voice belonged to.

Rumplestiltskin.

He had obviously caught on to her plan and tracked her into the woods.

"I don't like when other people touch what belongs to me." Rumple notified them pacing towards them.

All three men backed off immediately, fearful of the wrath the Dark One would bestow upon them.

"This is your wench?" The sheriff asked pretending to be shocked.

Rumple didn't buy their stupidity. He knew what those men wanted from his maid and if he wouldn't have interfered, they would have gotten it.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your heart out right now." He hissed through his teeth.

"You know how it is, perhaps we could buy time with this beauty for an hour or so."

Rumples face became even more repulsed then before.

"Not even 20 minutes?" Another man asked.

Rumple with the twist of his wrist tied all three of the men up against a nearby large tree.

"I've thought this through boys" A devilish grin beginning to grow on his face as he started to speak.

"Usually I would turn you into snails and squash you with the weigh of my boot, but instead I thought I would let the wolves have you." His smile grew wide with the look of desperation and fear on the men's faces.

"No!" Belle interjected, grabbing a hold of Rumple's arm in protest.

"We shall let them go, one day their troubles and crimes will catch up to them." She declared.

"You need to remember dearie, you are my servant, I am not yours. I will do what I please." He snapped.

"They will remain as I left them, and it is getting dark. The wolves will be looking for a meal soon." He smiled widely making direct eye contact with the sheriff.

With that, Belle knew she had been overpowered, there was no negotiating with this Beast.

The walk back to the dark castle was a silent one. Neither of them spoke a word to each other until they reached the door of the castle. Belle was freezing, she had nothing but her blue dress which had short thin sleeves. Her teeth chattered noisily as he opened up the door for her, while she rubbed her hands together for a source of warmth.

"I don't get it. Those men would have had their wicked way with you and yet you showed them kindness when they deserved no mercy." He spoke, continuing to walk down the castle hallway with Belle at his side.

She was surprised at the first words spoken to her by Rumplestiltskin, she thought that he would be yelling and upset at the fact she had attempted to flee the castle and break their deal.

"Everyone deserves mercy." She answered carefully, hoping in some way Rumplestiltskin would agree with her.

He didn't answer back after her response, letting the sound of silence take over as they approached the dungeon.

"I never said thank you, for saving me from those men." She added, her voice cracked from the cold while her body still shivered.

"It was no matter. In fact I've forgotten the entire thing already." He concluded, directed Belle into her cell.

She sat in there like she had earlier that day and huddled her legs against her chest, still trying to warm up from the cold.

"Oh one more thing" He added.

"What's that?" She gazed up at him attentively.

"If you ever try and leave this castle again, I will kill you."

**Next Chapter: Belle decides to fix the curtains, and Belle and Baelfire come up with a plan, one that Rumple will not approve of. The next chapter should be up on Thursday!**


	5. Light and Darkness

A whole week had passed and belle slowly began falling into the same routine. She would get up, sweep the upstairs corridor, then she would move on to dusting the furniture and then finally sweeping the downstairs main hall. Sometimes, if Rumplestiltskin was in a bad mood she would be made to do dishes or go out in the freezing snow and trim the shrubs in the front courtyard.

As hard as she tried to forget, Belle still remained troubled by the same nightmare Baelfire had described to her that she had seen so many times before.

The Beauty was glad that she had gained a friend regardless of the circumstances she was in. It took her mind off everything, talking with Bae, even if it was about creepy common dreams they both shared.

She had cried again last night, the first time since the first day she was brought here. The tears would stream down her cheeks as she desperately wished they would leave her alone. Letting out her frustration, however, helped her to lift her spirits and the emotions of sadness she had felt since her residence at the Dark Castle.

Belle made her way out of the cell and grabbed the broom which was placed next to the door. She began to sweep the area in the dungeon to a rthymic beat, humming as she went. Her mother used to sing when she was little, her voice she remembered what soft and delicate but beautiful to listen to.

Little by little she sang the song gently to herself as she swept slowly and calmly, getting ready for the day ahead of her. Little did she know that the Beast himself was on his way to see her right now.

Rumplestiltskin walked down towards the dungeon until a beautiful voice stopped him in his tracks.

It was _Belle_.

He couldn't stop thinking about her attempt to escape last week, which made him feel a twinge of guilt in his stomach. Had life in the dark castle been bad enough that would cause her to run? Had he frightened her enough that she hated the thought of being near him? He had never felt guilty like this since become the Dark One and it unsettled him greatly.

Rumplestiltskin barged in his maids cell once more, where she immediately stopped her singing with the sight of him.

"Don't stop on my account."

"How many times are you going to come barge into here uninvited? It is my personal space after all." She mumbled.

"It has come to my attention that perhaps I was a little harsh the other day."

"Just a little." She narrowed her eyes, after all he had threatened to kill her if she ever tried something like running away ever again.

The awkward silence kicked in, and Belle picked up her broom, heading to start her daily chores.

"Wait." He ordered urgently.

"Get your things, I want you to switch rooms."

Belle stood dumbfounded and lost for words at his proposal.

"Switch rooms?" She repeated, a small smile curbing upon her lips.

"Do you want to stay in here in the dungeon for the rest of your days?"

"No"

"Well then let's go" He demanded.

Still shocked by the sudden generosity of him, Belle carried her few belongings, trailing behind Rumplestiltskin as he lead her down a well decorated hallway and stopped at the last door on the left.

"This space will be of more comfort to you I hope." His voice neutral.

"Why are you doing this?" She turned around to face him.

"I want my maid to be somewhat comfortable, you did agree on staying here forever after all."

"Well thank you. I know that we didn't get off on the right foot, and about trying to leave, it was stupid-"

"Yes, it was indeed."

Did she just have a real conversation with the Beast himself? Perhaps there was hope after all.

Out of all the chores, laundry proved to be the most difficult due to Rumplestiltskin's collection of Leather apparel. She washed the garments over a big tub of warm water, scrubbing cloth together with a bar of soap. She had noticed from the week she had taken up residence at the castle, it was dark.

Rumplestiltskin insisted the curtains stay shut instead of opening them to luminate the rooms. Today that would change. She was stuck of being stuck in darkness.

Belle had found a ladder in one of the many closets and set it up facing the tall thick curtains that covered up the light of day.  
As she climbed up, her legs began to shake with each step.

If she were too accidentally slip it would be a long fall down to the hard floor.

Rumplestiltskin sat in the corner of the room, sitting and spinning at his wheel peacefully. He spinned quite frequently, she had observed and had always been so quiet she forgot about his presence. Looking down from her high viewpoint, Belle focused on Rumplestiltskin, wondering why he had such infatuation with the wheel.

"Why do you spin so much?" She heard he down voice echo through the large room.

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

Belle looked down and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm curious I suppose." She admitted, turning her attention back to the curtains, pretending that she never asked him her question.

The Beauty gave strong pulls near the top of them, letting out short growls of frustration towards the stubborn curtains.

"What on earth are you doing?" Rumplestiltskin asked, stopping spinning at his wheel and stood up.

The sound of his laced leather boots came nearer and nearer until he was right below her.

"Trying to open these curtains, we should let some light in, it's dark in here all the time. I would at least like to see the light of day sometimes." She complained.

"Well it is called the _Dark Castle_." He quipped, giggling at his own joke like a child.

Belle tugged harder at the feisty curtains until she pulled with all her strength and they finally fell.

The problem was, so did she.

Before she knew it she was free falling down towards the floor, faster then she could comprehend what was happening. She prepared herself for the harsh fall awaiting her, but instead was caught by a pair of arms.

Rumplestiltskin's.

She was in the arms of the Beast himself and could do nothing but stare into the face who had saved her from hitting the floor. He looked just as shocked as she as they stared at one another like deer in headlights.

"Thank you" she stuttered out the words and repeated her gratitude.

Rumplestiltskin dropped her almost immediately while taking a few steps back.

"It's no matter" He cleared his throat and brushed off his red velvet vest.

"I guess I'll try to put the curtains back up."

"There's no need." Rumple objected.

"Well if you don't need me for anything, I think I'm going to see if Baelfire has any laundry that needs to be washed." Belle quickly got out of the room as fast as she could avoiding any further eye contact with her employer.

The Beauty walked upstairs to Bae's chambers to discover him laying on the floor sketching in his drawing book.

"Do you have any laundry?" Belle knocked on the side of his door, waiting for permission to be invited in.

"Not that I can think of, you did it a couple days ago."

"Oh. Do you mind if I look around for some... just in case?"

"Knock yourself out."

Belle made her way into the room, picking up toys and placing them back in the proper spot as she scanned for any type of laundry.

You shouldn't of tried to leave. People never break deals with my father or bad things happen."

"Don't worry I won't do anything that stupid again." Belle promised.

Her eyes turned to the open sketch book with a half completed drawing on it.

"You're pretty good at that." She tilted her head towards the open book.

Baelfire became bashful at the nice comment.

"I don't think I'm that good."

"Well I do, that had to mean something. I'm sure all your friends think so too." She smiled.

"They might, if I had any."

"Being the Dark One's son has some disadvantages sometimes." He sighed deeply continuing drawing on the paper in front of him.

"Everyone is too scared to even talk to me yet want to be friends, except you."

"Well I'm not scared of Rumplestiltskin. So far he's been all bark and no bite, I can handle him."

"You would be the first to think that way."

Belle pondered on thoughts on how to help the boy.

"Your father told me this morning while I was making his morning tea that he would be gone next week."

Then an idea popped in her head faster then she even realized, recalling the conversation she had with Rumple earlier on.

"Let's go to town, you are bound to make a friend there."

Baelfire's eyes lit up with hope and excitement, until reality hit him and his brown eyes once again dulled.

"We can't. If father would catch us he would be very angry. I would be too afraid."

"He won't hurt you, Bae."

"It's not me I'm worried about, it's you who will pay the price for our actions."

"Than I shall pay it. We shall go to town as soon as your father leaves." Belle argued, aware of the fact she was winning the argument.

"What happened to "I will never do another stupid thing again?" Bae questioned his caretaker.

"I've learned from years of being locked in a tower that if life calls for an adventure, you never decline the offer."

"Even if I can't make a friend, at least I have you for one."

Belle's heart melted at Bae's words. He was the loneliest child she had ever laid eyes upon, and she would do anything in her power to help him get what he desired most. After all, forever in the Dark Castle would be very lonely without any friends of her own.

"You will make a friend your own age, I promise."

"You really think so?" Bae asked her.

The Beauty smiled, her bright blue eyes filled with kindness.

"I know so."

**Next Chapter: Belle and Bae go into town where Belle sees someone from her past, and Rumple faces new difficult situation regarding Regina.**

**Next update will most likely be Tuesday:) Thanks for reading! Review and let me know what you think!**


	6. The Village

The week of Rumplestiltskin's absence had arrived, leaving Belle and Baelfire with the Dark Castle all to themselves. Rumplestiltskin hadn't given them a direct answer when they asked where he was going, instead he would simple brush off the question completely. They figured he had left to make his infamous deals or to collect from the poor souls he had already manipulated.

While the master of the castle was gone, Belle and Baelfire had set off into town in the middle of the week, just as they had planned the week before. They walked side by side, along a gravel trail amongst the woods, with the grey sky peeping from behind the trees.

Snowflakes fell softly on the ground and stuck onto their jackets. Belle had managed to find a small black cloak in her closet which kept her warm. She didn't need to worry about lack of conversation because Baelfire was firing her questions and thoughts.

"I've been thinking of names" He shared, saying what was on his mind.

"For what exactly?" Belle questioned, looking down at the brown haired boy whose cheeks had become flushed due to winter's cold chill.

"For our plan to leave the castle, to make some of my own friends, I'm thinking the name Operation Cobra." Bae decided, gazing up at the Beauty with hopeful eyes.

Belle let out a soft laugh.

"Operation Cobra? Where did you get that name from?" She asked, amused by the boys very active imagination.

Baelfire shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not quite sure, but it does sounds cool."

"Alright, Operation Cobra it is." Belle giggled.

The silence had barely been allowed to set in before Baelfire came up with another burning question for her. The two unlikely friends had gotten to know each other quite well over the past couple months, due to Baelfire's persistent questions.

"You told me once that you were a princess" Baelfire began, his voice trailing off, afraid to offend the Beauty.

"Yeah I was, once." Belle answered, looking off into the distance not looking him in the eyes.

"What happened?" Bae asked almost afraid the answer she would respond back to him.

"The ogre wars happened." She admitted her tone sounded bitter and full of disgust.

Bae shuddered at the words, recalling terrible flashbacks of his friends being ripped away from their families at the age of the age of 13. The ogre wars had ended a year and a half ago, allowing bae to take a deep breath, the horrific event in the past.

"You know I was meant to fight in the Ogres War, I fear what would have happened if my father had not stepped in.."

"Rumplestiltskin stopped the ogre wars?" Belle asked, surprised at the new information.

"Yeah, at first the only reason he became the Dark One was to stop the fight and protect me."

"I didn't know that." Belle stated, her mind mentally imagining an image of Rumplestiltskin, the man who was labelled a monster, saving hundreds of innocent children from an untimely death.

"That was back when he was more man then monster." Bae recalled the days where he looked up to his father as a hero rather than a Beast.

"Well I was locked away in a tower for three years, I guess I need to be filled in on this kind of stuff." She reasoned, letting a small grin form on her face to comfort Bae.

"How did you get in that tower?"

"When my father died fighting in the battle, my fiancé was left as lord of the kingdom. He sent me away because-" Her voice cracked about to reveal the reason of her past and confide in this young boy, but before she could spit out the words, Baelfire jumped in mid sentence.

"What reason did he possibly have? Why would anyone want to send you away?" He questioned, his tone sincere, his big brown eyes blinked with innocence.

This boy never failed to melt the heart of this Beauty.

"It's quite a story. Perhaps for another day." She replied.

"Do you miss your father?"

Belle nodded, her eyes looking down at the ground, watching her feet move across the ground in sync with Baelfire's.

"You are lucky to have a father who loves and cares for you." Belle mentioned.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure." Bae admitted, taking a deep breath.

"Rumplestiltskin is many things, but never a bad father, he always has your best interest at heart.. Even if he expresses it in ways you don't expect."

He smiled at her comment as they walked side by side towards the village, which they could see in the distance.

* * *

The Dark One loved many things but enjoyed collecting his debts the most. He had travelled to King George's castle and already collected from four desperate souls and the day was still early.

However, it wasn't just his deals that had brought him here. Rumple was tracking someone, someone he had been tracking for a while and eventually the Dark One had found what he was looking for. The man he wanted to see was intelligent and sly, some people even considered him crazy, mad even.

Rumplestiltskin stood in the middle of an open meadow in the cold winter air.

"Well, well I was wondering when you would show up." A man with a tall hat suddenly stood next to him, his voice echoed through the frosty air.

"You knew I would eventually come Jefferson. I know you are well aware that I have the power to see the future." Rumple stated.

"Indeed but I'm afraid that you have come all this way for nothing."

Rumple didn't looked impressed at the Hatters confession.

"What do you mean?" He snapped impatiently.

"The book you desire, I'm afraid **_she_** has it." Jefferson stammered, uncomfortably.

Rumplestiltskin growled with frustration. His worst fear had been recognized, the one person he never wanted to see with that book, had it in her procession.

Regina.

"Well your services will not go unnoticed, Jefferson." Rumple tossed him a couple golden coins which the Hatter caught and tucked away in his black jacket.

"What will you do now?" The mad man questioned.

"I created her." Rumple hissed. "I'll have no problem getting that book back from her."

"What does the Queen want with it?" Jefferson contemplated different scenarios in his head.

Rumple shook his head, he truly had no idea what Regina was planning, she was a wildcard.

She had a desperate soul once, Regina, while she was struggling between her evil magical desire and desire to do good. She no longer had that struggle, the Queen had reverted to her dark abilities and gave in to the temptation that went along with all the power. Rumplestiltskin had known what that felt like, the allure of dark power, the irresistible temptation, and he knew one thing for sure and that was that darkness always won in the end.

Now The Evil Queen obtained the most powerful spell book in the entire Enchanted Forest, and he had to get it back, no matter what the cost would be.

* * *

"When I was seven my father arranged for me to take riding lessons." Belle continued telling a story of her childhood to Bae, laughing hysterically at the hilarity of the memory.

"It was a complete disaster, it took my father an hour just to get me on the horse! It took a little time to realize what I was truly good at, reading books." Belle giggled.

Baelfire's grin turned into a sad frown, while he hung his head kicking a tiny rock with his foot.

"I'm not really good at anything." He muttered.

"I'm sure that isn't true." Belle argued.

"What about your art where did you get that from?"

"My mother."

"Oh" was all she could spit out.

"Wondering What happened to her?" Bae spoke, practically reading Belle's mind.

"A little." She admitted.

"My father told me she died, but I know the truth, she left us when I was very little."

"I'm sorry." The Beauty tried to comfort him, unsure of what to say to him.

"Don't be sorry, she wasn't a real mother, papa and I are better without her anyway."

"My mother died when I was really young." Belle revealed.

"What happened?" Baelfire asked, his voice low with seriousness.

"One day she got really sick and she just.. never got better."

It was strange to think about, Rumplestiltskin once had a wife, before becoming the Dark One who had abandoned both her husband and her son. Belle couldn't understand how anyone could do such a thing and betray their family like that.

She recalled the terrible memories and feelings that had come after her mothers death, but nothing could match the pain Baelfire must had felt. His mother did not die, she had purposely and voluntarily left her husband and son on her own free will. Belle couldn't decide which fate was worse, and she didn't want to linger too long on these thoughts anymore.

She would do anything to have a son as wonderful as Baelfire proved to be. He was kind, genuine, artistic and sweet. It made Belle feel all the more terrible and guilty that he had grown up without a mother figure in his life. Belle remained silent and thoughtful the rest of the walk, her mind spinning as Bae went on about how one of the clouds to shape as a rabbit.

When they first arrived they both were overwhelmed with the amount of people in the towns square. The marketplace was filled with peasants trying to buy their baked goods and complaining about the over priced bread.

Bae's face lit up when he saw a group of children playing in the distance, even though she knew that he wanted to play, he seemed to hesitate and lingered around the Beauty's side.

"Go on, don't be shy." she tried to give him a little nudge to get him walking towards the other children.

"What if they don't like me?" Bae was concerned, afraid of what they would think of him.

"You're being silly, now go! We didn't travel all this way for nothing did we?" Belle accused him playfully, giving him a warm smile before he made his way over to the group of children. Baelfire gulped, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness, then gaining courage he took a deep breath and prepared himself.

Belle watched as he approached the children, who seemed to be playing with a ball back and forth between themselves. Baelfire briefly introduced himself as the children accepted him as one of their own.

Belle continued to watch as the children played together, laughing as the ball bounced towards them then letting out a squeal of delight as they hit it.

Distracted by a commotion of noise, Belle took her eyes of Bae and walked towards a large crowd gathered on the other side of the square. Curious, Belle continued to walk over to see what all the fuss was about.

A loud obnoxious voice boomed over everyone else's. It was strangely familiar, which caused Belle to make her way though the crowd to get closer to the loud speaker.

The closer Belle became the more she got an unsettling feeling in her stomach. The voice speaking had become clearer and the moment she laid her eyes upon the speaker her mouth nearly dropped. She could recognize that smug arrogant tone anywhere, she just hadn't heard it in three years.

He wore his red armour with faint touches of gold which showed off his exaggerated arm muscles. His black hair shined from the brightness of the sky and his eyes were dark.

Gaston.

Her heart had stopped completely and a dry lump formed in her throat as he continued to speak out to the crowd.

"Ladies, ladies please, everyone must take turns." He chuckled holding two women close to him already.

Belle felt sick, her eyes glued on that bastards smug face. She hated him with every inch of her being. What surprised the Beauty however, was how the people actually adored him.. well at least the women anyway. They believed him to be a hero, unaware of his true nature underneath his perfect chiselled features.

For a moment the whole world seemed to be in slow motion. They were in the kingdom that she had lived in most of her life, her fathers kingdom, one that now belonged to her. At least it was suppose to belong to her, but Belle knew very well that nothing was the way it was meant to be. She had experienced first hand that life was unfair and there was nothing she could do about it.

She knew she recognized the trail and the buildings that they had passed on their journey here. Had it been that long that she could barely remember her own kingdom? The kingdom of Avonlea had become a mere fantasy in her mind, mutated with her own creation and memories of when she was a child.

The village now grew poor, with people on the streets begging for food to give to their starving children. She couldn't take it anymore, it made everything too real for her liking, and like that, Belle turned around and ran the opposite direction. Her small size made it difficult to escape the crowd, she shuffled through many townsfolk, slipping her cloak hood on to cover her face as she went.

She ran sneaking glances behind her, paranoid that perhaps he had seen her out of the tower and he would do everything in his power to send her back to that tower.

All of a sudden she felt herself collide with another body, when she managed to pick herself off of the ground, Belle's gaze turned one of horror as she became face to face with the one man she never wanted to see again.

Her ex fiancé.

**Next Chapter: Belle finds herself face to face with Gaston.. Will he recognize her? Also Rumple finds out that Belle took Baelfire into town, his reaction is one she never expected. Next chapter update will be Wednesday or Thursday! Thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	7. A Safe Haven

Belle's entire body froze, hypnotized by her immediate paralysis at her current situation. Her heart dropped into her stomach, forcing her to become mute, as much as her insides begged her to say something. Gaston laid his dark eyes upon the Beauty's eyes of crystal blue, which forced all the air out of Belle's lungs.

She took a shaky breath in as Gaston held out a hand to her, offering to help her off the ground. Belle was grateful that the dark cloak had covered most of hear obvious features, along with her long dark auburn hair, making him oblivious to her true identity.

"My apologies miss.." His deep haunting voice echoed through her ears while he attempted to reach out his arm to help her up.

"Don't worry about it!" She lowered an octave in her voice, ripping her arm viciously away from his.

Belle picked herself off the ground and brushed off parts of her blue dress, avoiding anymore revealing eye contact.

"I really insist that I help you, perhaps you come back to the tavern and let me buy you a drink." Gaston smirked, licking his hand then grooming the front part of his head of black hair.

Feeling nauseous at his invitation, she declined by shaking her head frantically and before Gaston could get any closer to her, she ran the other way into a large bustle of townsfolk.

The brute hadn't recognized her, much to the Beauty's relief.

The fact that he didn't seem to recognize her just proved that he lacked the capability to put two and two together, realizing the woman he had just bumped into was his ex fiancée

Regardless of Gaston's natural stupidity, she had to be more careful about her actions. It was foolish to of left the Dark Castle without Rumplestiltskins knowledge and protection.

The encounter with Gaston was too close for comfort and if luck hadn't been on her side, she feared the worst scenario that could of happened. If in that very moment he had recognized her, she would have ended right back in that tower where he had sent her the first time.

Her thoughts made her shiver and cringe with disgust and fear. He had taken everything from her, her freedom and her kingdom. Thoughts of hatred and anger circulated in her mind, Gaston facing the wrath of her mental power, imagining him being eaten alive by the wolves that lurked in the forest at night. Or worse, Gaston facing the rage of Rumplestiltskin, being turned into a snail or inanimate object.

Belle carefully walked around the village shops, ignoring any whistles and comments from various men. It was as if these men had never set eyes upon a woman in their entire life. People walked fast, quickly zipping in and out of others in the large concentration of townsfolk on the street. She wasn't used to all this, the hustle and hurry of everyone, hearing bits of their conversation as they walked past.

She felt suffocated by the large area of people, making her feel abnormally lightheaded and dizzy. Her feet swept her down a isolated ally, determined to escape the cluster of citizens and find some peace and quiet.

The narrow alleyway was filled with all types of smaller shops, all closed with their windows barred and darkened, except for one.

Belle stumbled upon a beaten book shop, taking the opportunity to escape the outside busy environment of the village. This old shop seemed like a silver lining to her woes, it was the last place Gaston would ever step into, god knew if he could even read a book.

She opened the creaky wooden doors carefully, sliding inside unnoticed. A chime of a bell sounded as the door shut, and the Beauty took off her cloak hood, brushing a hand through her curled low ponytail.

Her bright blue eyes scanned the room, fixing on the many shelves of books. The floor creaked as she walked towards the back of the room where she picked up a lone book which sat on a desk in the corner of the shop. Flipping through the pages, Belle's attention turned to the few pictures that the red velvet book contained. A beautiful woman sat on her window sill staring out into the night, her eyes appeared to be made of crystal clear glass.

"Hello?" Suddenly a voice called out, causing Belle to jump, startled that she wasn't there alone.

A small old man appeared from behind the counter with warm expression upon his face. He could tell he had startled the Beauty and immediately tried to make her feel as comfortablE as possible.

"That's a good book." The man praised, pointing to the red book she held in her hands.

Belle smiled a little, looking up at the owner of the shop.

"I can tell, the illustrations are absolutely breath taking." She responded.

"You like reading I assume?" He asked.

"I love it." Belle replied, continuing to flip and explore the pages of the red book.

"Then you must have it then." The old man enthused.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have any money." Belle responded sadly, handed him back the book attempting to head to the exit.

"Nonsense! Consider it a gift, intellectual people in this village are rare these days."

"I couldn't possibly-"

"I insist" The old bookkeeper shoved the book back in her hands and wrapped her fingers around the rim.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Belle lit up, unable to hide her wide grin.

"If you're in town another time you must stop by again and I can can swap this book for another if you'd wish." He told her, a hopeful expression painted on his face.

Belle smiled politely at his comment, knowing that it was impossible for her to return. She was Rumplestiltskin's servant, and she was not allowed to leave the castle, ever.

They shared a bittersweet goodbye as she stepped out back onto the busy street once more. The dark cloak hood covered her face again as she scanned the area for any sign of Baelfire.

Belle then spotted a group of children and amongst them was Bae. Even though she had felt a little guilty for interrupting his fun, she called him aside. Though she had found a safe haven in the book shop, the Beauty still found her hands were still nervously shaking from the encounter with Gaston.

Suddenly a small girl with bright green eyes and blonde hair trotted towards Belle with Baelfire by her side, a single white flower dangled in her hands.

"Who is this?" Belle smiled greeting them both with a kind smile, looking at the adorable charming girl.

"This is Emma, she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming." Baelfire introduced the blonde bundle of energy, who took a small elegant cursty as he spoke her name.

"Is this your mother, Bae?" She asked innocently, her eyes gleamed with admiration at the Beauty.

Belle seemed lost for words at Emma's question, but right as she was about to break the truth to the little girl, Bae started to speak.

"It is." He lied, looking up to Belle with his brown eyes, giving her a grin.

"She is very beautiful." Emma leaned in to whisper to him, loud enough for Belle to hear.

Belle giggled, bashful at the child's comment.

"What have you two been up to? No trouble I hope." She laughed softly.

"No trouble, we were playing hide and seek."

"Oh Bae that's wonderful! I'm glad that you're making friends."

"Its all thanks to you." He replied

All of a sudden young voices called Emma's name and she dashed to join the other children, leaving Belle and Baelfire alone.

Belle searched her surroundings, with concern written all over her face. Bae could instantly tell something was bothering her, she was acting strange.

"Are you alright Belle? You look like something is bothering you." He addressed.

"I ran into someone." She admitted, her tone sounding rather nervous.

"Who?"

"Someone I never though I would never see again."

"Was he the one who put you in that tower."

"Yeah." She breathed, surprised that he had figured that out so quickly.

"I haven't seen him since then and I plan on keeping it that way." Belle stated.

The group of children were laughing hysterically in the background, running around attempting to catch one another.

Belle took a breath in of the cold frosty air, feeling guilty of the conversation she had to have with him.

"Bae, I know you are having lots of fun, and I couldn't be happier but-"

"We have to go back home now." Bae finished her sentence abruptly.

"Your father is back in two days time already and I need to make the castle extra clean so he doesn't suspect anything." Belle partly made an excuse for her burning desire to leave the village.

"I understand." He have her a reassuring look as he ran back to the children to bid farewell.

It didn't take long for Bae to say goodbye to all the friends he had made. Though it saddened him to leave them, he understood why he had to. He finally had got to do what he had always wanted. He made friends, laughed, played and it was all thanks to Belle.

The walk back to the castle wasn't a silent one. Baelfire told her stories of what he and the other children had done together and recited all the names of each child he had played with.

Finally, after a log a tiring journey it wasn't until they were back inside the walls of the Dark Castle did Belle realize how exhausted she was. She took out the book she had received in town and placed it on the table with a loud thud.

"Where did you get that book from?" Bae questioned.

"Oh, I got it in town, there was a man nice enough to give it to me."

"What's it about?" He asked curiously peering at the red dusty book which sat on the wooden table.

"I'm not quite sure." She confessed, picking it up in her hands and opening it up once more.

Belle met the gaze of the curious boy and could immediately tell what he secretly wanted.

"Do you want to find out? I could read it to you, if you want."

Bae pretended to shrug off the idea, thinking he was to old to read stories like a mother would read to a child.

Except his mother never had read him stories.

"I'd like that."

Bae tucked himself into his bed eagerly and awaited for the Beauty to start the story.

She sat on the end of his bed as she opened the book to the first page.

"Before we start, I'm curious about one thing."

"What's that?" He asked.

"Back in the village, you told your friend Emma that I was your mother, why?"

"Because sometimes I wish you were." He confessed.

She smiled, a burst of love seemed to flow from her heart towards the young boy. After telling her of what joy that confession had brought her, she opened the book and started to read, just in time for Rumplestiltskin to listen as well.

What Bae and Belle didn't know was Rumple had gotten home early from his trip, and was behind the door listening in on Belle and his son's reading session.

"Once upon a time, lived a beautiful princess" She read softly, showing him all the different images that went along with each page. For each character she used a different narrative voice for an imaginative effect.

While the Beauty read the story aloud, Rumple found himself smiling behind the door to himself at the sight. His son looked truly happy, and it was all because of her, the maid that went by the name of Belle.

By the time the first chapter was finished, Baelfire found himself with tired heavy eyelids, yawning like a lion cub.

"Thanks for a great week, Belle." He whispered, hugging her shoulders tightly.

"You're welcome" she hugged him back tightly and brought her lips to the top of his curly brown hair."

"Goodnight Bae."

The Beauty left his room and made her way down to the corridor, becoming easily startled when Rumplestiltskin appeared behind her.

"For the record, I know what you and my son have been up to, little maid."

"You're back." She stated the obvious, too tired to even try guard herself from any of his harsh or bitter comments.

"I know you left the castle and took him into town. That was extremely dangerous, dearie."

Belle was silent, trying to find or make an excuse that would ease the Dark One's anger. The only thing that seemed to make sense was to tell him the truth.

"I just thought that he deserved a day with some other children who aren't frightened away from his own father." She defended herself then immediately regret flushed over her sudden harsh outburst.

"I didn't mean-"

"No you're right, everyone in the entire Enchanted Forest fears me, but the real question here dearie, is why dont you? Rumple narrowed his brown eyes at her.

"I guess you're as scary as you think you are." Her voice became almost as soft as a whisper.

"Baelfire has taken a liking to you, he's usually quite shy-"

"He's a great kid." She responded.

"I saw you read to him, he seemed to really like that."

"You were listening to that?" Belle became embarrassed, recalling all the different funny voices she used for the characters for Baelfire's amusement.

"I'm not angry for you taking him to the village."

"You're not?"

"No." He answered simply, studying the Beauty's features.

"You have proved your usefulness, and I'm sorry I doubted you in the beginning."

"Thank you." She yawned loudly, covered her mouth with her hand.

"If there's nothing else you need, goodnight, Rumplestiltskin."

"No wait." He objected just as she had turned around the start walking in the other direction.

"I have something to show you. Follow me."

The Beast led her into a large room with extravagant doors, revealing the largest library Belle had ever seen.

"It's beautiful." She whispered in awe at the near sight of it.

"Did you do this for me?"

"I don't want to see one speck of dust on this collection." He avoided her question watching her amazed expression as she scanned all the books on the towers of shelves. The beauty bit her lip hiding her forming grin and grabbed Rumplstiltskin's hand in hers.

"You're not who I thought you were, and I'm glad." She spoke happily.

Something stirred deep within Rumple as the Beauty held her hand in his. Something he had never felt before this exact touch. In this very moment everything seemed utterly perfect, just like it was meant to be. While Belle and Rumple held their hands intertwined together, neither of them desired to pull away.

**Next chapter: Jefferson has new information for Rumple. Belle stumbles upon Cupid's bow, accidentally pricking herself causing her to fall in love with the first person she sees. Next update should be Tuesday or Wednesday! Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you feel like it:)**


	8. Bows and Boldness

The next morning seemed different, as if the Beauty's lens of perspective had been shifted from the previous lens of uncertainty and discontentment. For the first time ever since her arrival, Belle felt truly comfortable. No longer did the castle linger in darkness, but it seemed as if the Beauty had brought light into the lives of the Dark One and his son, Baelfire.

The curtains around the castle remained opened, exposing the vast sunrise upon the distant mountains. She couldn't believe that four whole months had passed already that she had been here, in the castle everyone claimed to be exploding with dark evil. It turned out the man that everyone feared, wasn't as evil as he thought he was.

He had given her a library, claiming it was a thoughtless action, but he had also caught her when she fell from the ladder opening the curtains. As much as Rumplestiltskin did not want to admit it, he cared what happened to her, which made Belle feel an sense of security, something she hadn't felt since she was a child.

They were in the heart of the very long treacherous winter, and snow still remained on the ground, piled up high against the stone castle.

Every morning Belle would serve Rumplestiltskin his morning tea, and they would sit quietly together, barely saying a word. In their silence, they would soak up the beauty of the morning sun, enjoying one another's company. This particular morning, Belle placed the expensive tea set in front of Rumplestiltskin and sat on the table comfortably.

"Why did you want me here?" She questioned tilting her head towards Rumplestiltskin with curiosity.

"The place was filthy" He responded, his answer unsatisfying the Beauty's curiosity.

"Can't magic clean it? A maid is a little unnecessary don't you think?"

"Everyone knows magic always comes with a price dearie, and the price can be.. unpredictable." He stated.

Belle shifted her weight on the table as her legs swung back and forth happily. Rumplestiltskin continued to watch her closely, fidgeting his fingers as she spoke once more.

"I thought you were the all powerful Dark One, someone who finds away around technicalities such as that.. I thought you didn't play by the rules." Belle began to tease him, batting her eyelashes playfully.

Rumple growled in his throat, not because he was angry at her, but the fact that he had no intelligent comeback to compete with her teasing. Belle was testing him, seeing how far she could push him and as much as he hated arguing, he found it intriguing to bicker with his little maid.

"Apparently a maid comes with a price too, I'm irritated all day and am constantly up to my neck with your questions." He muttered back, treating Belle like a child that is too curious with the world around her.

"I really get under that green skin of yours don't I?" She smiled, amused by her natural talent of scrambling his thoughts.

"Yes, indeed you do." He responded, taking a small sip out of his tea.

She had certainly wriggled her way under his skin and no matter how hard he tried, he could not shake her. There was something in the way this girl walked, the way she spoke that drew the Beast in, that really intrigued him.

"You're using the chipped tea cup." Belle noticed, which caught Rumple off guard.

"That's the one I broke my first week here, I'm sorry I should have brought you another-" The Beauty began to ramble on until Rumple cut her off.

"It's no matter dearie, I rather like this one actually." He spoke examining the cup with a rather delicate touch, running his fingertips over the chipped edge.

Rumplestiltskin stared at his own hands for a moment then briefly looked at Belle's, Remembering the other night, reminding him of when they had held their hands together. It was a friendly sign of affection for giving her the library, he convinced himself.

It was nothing more than that.

"My collection upstairs in the east wing is in need of dusting, seek to that today." He ordered.

Belle raised her eyebrows for a moment in utter shock. She had never been in the east wing before, nor had he ever requested her to go there. The castle was so large that half the area had yet to be explored and discovered, this request from Rumplestiltskin seemed like an adventure in the eyes of the Beauty.

"Becareful dearie what you touch, we wouldn't want you turning into anything now, would we?" He quipped, and Belle found herself nervously laughing at his joke, hoping he was exaggerating of such an occurrence.

When Belle made her way up to the east wing, she entered a large chamber and her jaw dropped in awe. Within this gigantic room, were piles and shelves of treasures, gold, silver, crowns, everything anyone could ever desire.

She wandered around the different shelves, looking at all the jeweled crowns and tiaras, probably once belonging to some pour souls who Rumple had manipulated into making a deal. Then Belle stopped dead in front of a glass case, inside displayed a shimmering bow with three small pointy golden arrows that sat beside it. It was mesmerizing to stare at, and Belle knew she needed to get a closer look. The bows shaft was decorated with rubys and sapphires which shined and reflected in the Beauty's eyes.

Slowly and very carefully, Belle opened the glass case and picked up the bow in her hands. Then reaching for one of the arrows, a sharp pain shot through her finger as she noticed a drop of blood running down her finger tip. She put her finger to her mouth instantly, cursing quietly, hoping the bleeding would stop.

She gently placed the bow back down, she learned her lesson, she definitely wasn't touching those again.

The sounds of boots stomped up the hallway and Belle quickly attempted to put everything back in its proper place, just like the way it had been before. Turning around quickly, Belle accidentally knocked down a large vase which broke into a million small pieces on the ground.

"I thought I told you to be careful!" Rumple scolded, as he gripped Belle's shoulders to turn her around the face him.

Then it happened.

Brown on blue, their gazes met.

Her world suddenly stopped spinning and instead of gravity holding her to the earth, it was him.

It was like her heart was about to explode with a raging desire to be near him. She couldn't quite comprehend what exactly what was happening, but didn't complain when she saw Rumple standing right before her.

She straightened herself up, fixing her hair to look presentable to him. She batted her log eyelashes up and down when he approached her closer. The angry look on the Beast's face disappeared when he saw Belle's expression.

"What are you looking at?" Rumple asked, looking behind himself, as if the person who Belle was giving such a look was standing behind him.

"You" Belle whispered and from his unsettled look upon his face she could tell he was uncomfortable.

"May I not look at you?" She flirted playfully, pressing herself up against him.

Rumplestiltskin immediately jumped back, like if she had burned him.

"What has gotten into you, Belle?" He questioned, narrowing his brown eyes at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting rather strange."

"Perhaps you have gotten into me." She spoke her words slowly and as clear as day, even though Rumple could swear he had heard her wrong. Lost for words, he was left face to face with his maid, completely blanking on what to say next.

"You... better keep dusting these things or else it will take you all night." He advised her, gesturing towards all the undusted objects.

"If it took all night, would you come join me?" Her gaze became overly seductive which caused him to tremble.

Had she been trying to flirt with him? His thoughts clouded his mind as he continued to walk down the hallway, away from the east wing. With great effort, Belle had dusted the rest of Rumplestiltskin's treasures just in time for the evening feast.

As usual Belle laid out the table, but this time she moved her own chair a bit closer toward his. She wanted intimate conversation, the alluring ability to whisper and know he'll be able to hear it.

When Rumplestiltskin set foot in the dining hall, he immediately notices the change of seating, giving her one raised eyebrow before settling himself in the chair.

"New arrangement?" He asked.

Belle watched him for long moment and then bit her rose red lips.

"I just wanted to be a little closer to you. Is that so bad?"

She watched him, her eyes are locked into place staring into his. Rumplestiltskin is flustered at her boldness, and Belle tried not to laugh at his nervousness. She had changed out of her usual blue maid dress and into a bright red one, tying her hair to one side of her face. Asides from the table seating, that was the first thing he noticed when he walked into the room.

"Where is Baelfire?" She asked, making conversation, searching the room for the boy.

"He is drawing up in his room, he ate dinner a little earlier today." Rumple replied, trying to be casual about this whole situation.

For some strange reason, Belle was glad at the answer he gave. She was surprisingly happy that Bae wasn't joining them tonight, it would just be the two of them and they would finally get the chance to be alone.

During dinner, their conversation remained subtle, they talked about simple things such as the weather and topics they usually discussed. The candles burned in an ambiance setting, making Belle's fair skin sparkle like flawless white marble.

Belle leaned slightly towards him just so their hands brushed together, causing Rumplestiltskins eyes to widen like a full moon as he fumbled his cutlery. Then when she leaned her face close to his, he knocked over his red wine, spilling it across the table.

He cursed under his breath and started to get up, with his frantic arm movements and extreme awkwardness. Belle did not want him to get up, she wanted him to remain beside her close, feeling his breath on her neck. Then the Beauty reached out her hand and placed it on his thigh. It stopped him immediately and for a moment they simply stare at each other.

Rumplestiltskin resembled a hunted animal, trapped by nothing more than her hand on him. Belle feels the urge to reach out and run her fingers through his hair, caress the oddly colored skin of his chest, which is revealed by the low cut of his leather shirt. She has a burning desire to be close to him, and she has no idea why.

Rumplestiltskin also is in deep thought also, thinking of possibilities that could cause his maid to act in such a way..

Then it hit him, like a ton of cement bricks.

The east wing of the castle contained many items that he told her to dust. Among the treasures in the room, was Cupid's Bow. Oh Gods, she had cut herself and he was stupid enough to walk in behind her! He was the first person she laid eyes upon and ever since she was feeling a false version of love. Then his words flowed out of his mouth faster than he could process what is happening.

"Belle, the other day when I asked you to dust the collection of mine did you stumble upon a bow?"

The Beauty nodded innocently, never breaking eye contact with him.

"Did you by any chance cut yourself on one of the arrows?"

Belle stared down at her hand, where her finger was wrapped in a tiny bandage. Noticing her injury, the Beast sighed deeply.

"I think I know what is wrong with you." He trailed off, trying his hardest not to look upon the Beauty.

"There is nothing wrong with me" She insisted, encouraging him to sit closer to her.

"Oh trust me, you would not be acting this way if otherwise." Rumple responded, backing away from Belle, as if she had contracted a disease.

Suddenly the entrance doors flew open, revealing a tall man with a tall top hat. The man walked right in and took off the hat briefly before placing it right back on top of his head. Rumplestiltskin rose from his seat, much to Belle's annoyance and got up to greet the hatter.

"Jefferson, I assume you have more news regarding Regina." He spoke, attempting to lead him into another room, keeping him away from Belle.

"Indeed I do... The Queen was spotted with a man the other night.. something tells me that she is up to no good" The Hatter paused, searching around the castle, staring into the dining room, noticing the romantic dinner placed out.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing." Rumplestiltskin shrugged, brushing off the fact that a romantic dinner for two was set up behind him.

"Something is different here." Jefferson stated simply, a curve almost forming upon his lips.

"I assure you, nothing has changed since the last time you've been here."

"What about the unnaturally beautiful sitting in your dining room? Or have you not noticed her yet?" Jefferson spoke, raising his eyebrows at him.

"She was apart of a deal, she's my maid." He retorted back.

The Hatter smiled at Rumplestiltskin's immediate reflex of defence, as he brought up his gorgeous caretaker.

"So what exactly is going on here? Not every master shares an intimate feast with his wench." Jefferson pointed out.

"It's not what it looks like." Rumple tried to explain himself.

"Then what does it look like?" Jefferson was almost laughing at the circumstances and the Dark One's bashfulness.

"It would seem that earlier today, my maid was dusting upstairs and she stumbled upon something she wasn't suppose to."

"Like what?"

Rumple took a deep breath in, the current situation hasn't exactly hit him yet.

"She pricked herself on one of Cupid's arrows, and now she has undying love for me." He confessed.

Jefferson lets out a laugh, then noticed his friend is serious.

"I always thought Cupid's Bow was a myth, you have it?" Jefferson sounds amazed and awed at the fact.

"Indeed I do, and it is very, very real. Usually I thought the magic from the bow did not last this long, but in this case it seems as if it is not going away." His tone sounded worried and concerned, his mind focused on Belle.

"It should ware off soon, I've read about this and the only possible way the spell will continue is if affection is returned to her."

Jefferson's information regarding the Beauty made Rumple even more uncomfortable and guilty. Then with realization of why the imp looked so guilty and tortured, his large green eyes grew wide with a sense of shock.

"You're afraid the spell will not break because you do show affection for her!" Jefferson outburst, while Rumple hissed at him to keep his voice down.

"I do not!"

The Jefferson gave him a look and he knew exactly what it meant.

"She is very good to Bae, Of course I care for her well being-" Rumple protested.

"I'm sure you do." The Mad Hatter smirked to himself, as if he knew something his friend did not.

"Don't worry, even though I can see right through your denial, I know a way to fix your current problem." He began, catching the Beast's immediate interest.

"Isolate her for a few hours, then the spell will eventually ware off."

After putting Belle in her room and locking the door behind him, Rumplestiltskin returned downstairs where he and Jefferson further discussed Regina and the mysterious partner she had been working with.

By the time Jefferson had left, he was certain of one thing. He had known Rumplestiltskin for a very long time, and Jefferson had just witnessed something that he never thought he would see in his lifetime.

The Dark One had it bad, and as much as he tried to deny it, Rumplestiltskin was in _love._

**Next Chapter: Belle and Bae play in the snow and Rumplestiltskin joins them... Will a snowball fight ensue? Also Belle and Rumple share an intimate moment. We ****will go into Belle's past with Gaston in chapters ahead and Regina's motive will be revealed too. ****Next Chapter update will be Saturday.. Thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you think;)**


	9. Snowfalls and Secret Alliances

Regina was the Queen, the Evil Queen, the most powerful woman in all the realms, yet she was unsatisfied with her standing as second best.

Rumplestiltskin, or known to everyone else as the Dark One, was still far more powerful then she. Just knowing that the evil imp could destroy her without a simple care in the world drove her to the point of insanity. For years he had mocked her, flaunting his absolute power, making her feel weak and vulnerable.

Rumplestiltskin was her master once, he had taught her everything. He knew every one of her weaknesses and ways to uphold his dominant strength over her.

Regina was certain of many things but knew one thing for sure is that she wanted the power of his, what the Queen wanted most was to take Rumplestiltskin down.

To fulfill this particular desire, Regina had found a suitable partner in crime, someone who was easy to manipulate, yet had a title and a position in power.

Her heels clapped loudly on the marbled flooring as she barged her way into the small humble castle of Avonlea. Regina found her way to the great hall where a group of men huddled over a drawn map. One of the men immediately recognized her, and ran up to greet her.

"Regina."

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten me, Gaston. You haven't visited me in a while." She remarked as the two briefly embraced.

"I ran into a difficulty." He spoke, literally meaning what he had said.

"Such as?" Regina raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

"The woman I told you about, the true heir to my throne, the one I threw in that tower.. I think I saw her.."

"Where?"

"In the village."

"Impossible, I thought you told me she would never escape." Regina snapped angrily through her ruby red lips.

"So I thought, but after the woman ran away I found this." He held up a simple gold charm bracelet, one that Maurice had given to Belle during the time of their engagement.

"Why does that mean anything?" Regina questioned,

"It belonged to her, to Belle."

Regina flung herself at him violently, viciously grabbing his jacket, forcing him to bend down at her eye level.

"I need the control over Avonlea if I am to take down Rumplestiltskin." Her hand remained gripped tight on his shirt, a scowl of disgust painted across her face.

"I understand." He gulped.

"No, I don't think you do. If anyone finds out that this girl is alive, our plan is ruined." Regina's voice was snake like, softly hissing into the ear of the muscular brute.

"You are lucky that I'm feeling rather forgiving today." Her unfriendly scowl turned into a wicked smile as she grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him hard and emotionless, in front of all the other soldiers.

When she broke apart from him, Regina grinned.

"Now my dear, we've yet to discuss on how to bring down, this all powerful Dark One."

"I do not fear him." Gaston spat, his teeth clenched as he gripped her waist.

"Then you are a fool." The Queen muttered slowly and tauntingly.

"Rumplestiltskin could wipe out an entire village if he wished it, the Beast is reckless and will do anything to get his way. There is no humanity left in him, he does not love." She continued.

"And what do we get out of the taking down the Dark One?"

"Once we take him down, we will become the two most powerful in all the realms. However, he is getting rather suspicious of my actions lately, and has covered up all the mirrors in his castle."

"What do mirrors matter?" Gaston questioned, his expression was confused by her previous statement.

"Everything, my dear Gaston, the mirrors allow me to see all, as long as they are not covered up." Her tone of voice became frustrated once more at her situation.

"How are we going to take down such a man, if he is as powerful as you speak?"" Gaston asked, confused of what plans were spinning in the Queen's twisted mind.

Regina smirked, her dark eyes gleamed with lust of power and deviancy.

"He has a dagger hidden in his castle somewhere, a weapon that allows you to have full control over him, and I'm going to find it."

* * *

Belle remained locked in her room until Rumplestiltskin was positive that the spell had worn off. He had explained to her what the circumstances were, that she had been enchanted with one of his magical items while dusting. Neither of them talked about what had occurred that very day, afraid of what the other would say.

The night had brought a severe blizzard, the icy wind blew out half the candles in the entire castle. It had been a very long winter season, and this proved that spring was still yet to come.

Belle's eyelashes fluttered awake sensitive to the light peeking through her curtains. The Beauty laid in bed with her eyes half shut, reaching for the night table beside her. Her hand lazily traced the perimeter of the wooden table reaching for her bracelet. Alarm instantly struck her when the item she desired was not there.

It had to be there.

The last place she wore it was...

The village.

She must had dropped it somewhere in the marketplace when herself and Baelfire had gone into town. Belle growled angrily at herself for losing such a precious heirloom And threw the warm bed sheets off of herself in rage.

With tears in her blue eyes, she opened her curtains, looking out her window. Her eyes were almost immediately blinded by the pure white sheets of the snow. The blizzard had left them with at least two feet of snow, resulting in the entire courtyard being covered with the white powdery stuff.

Then out of the corner of her eye, the Beauty saw a small brown headed figure buried in the snow.

Baelfire had gotten up early to go play out in the snow, like she had done when she was young. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the sight, and then an idea came to her mind.

She walked over to her wardrobe and picked out a warm red winter coat along with some black pants to go underneath. She cursed Rumplestiltskin for the fact that he covered up all the mirrors in the castle. She had to look in the reflection of vases and decorations to evaluate her appearance.

Brushing her hair and letting it flow down past her shoulders, Belle rushed downstairs and opened the door to the courtyard. The wind was still quite harsh as she slowly made her way through the thick snow to get to Bae.

"I thought you could use these." Belle held up a pair of white ear muffs, struggling to get through the white powder.

Baelfire grinned widely when he saw the Beauty approaching him. She held out the ear muffs to him, which he happily excepted.

"I saw you from my window. What are you building?" She questioned, looking at the snow contraption he had built.

"A snowman.. Would you like to help?" He asked enthusiastically, putting on his muffs, the top of his head covered with large snowflakes.

"Do you really think I came all this way through this weather to give you the silly earmuffs?" She laughed playfully, instantly interested in helping.

"I've rolled a big snowball already, how about you roll a middle, while I make the head?" He directed while she nodded with agreement.

Belle bounced down to sit on her bottom, taking a handful of snow in her small hands and making a perfectly circular ball. Surely Rumplestiltskin wouldn't mind if her duties were postponed for a while, would he? He was probably still distracted from her strange behavior the other day.

Rumplestiltskin lay in bed his eyes shut, but he hadn't gotten any sleep at all. He had spent a majority of the night thinking about the other evening. It was that bow that made her do such actions, made her touch him, look at him, she even almost kissed him.

How ridiculous.

Was it?

No- Rumple scolded his brain from wandering. He tried not to think of her, he convinced himself that he didn't think of her much.

_Just her eyes.._

_And her laugh.._

_Then there was that smile-_

_No!_

He growled and cursed at himself once more for thinking such thoughts about his own maid. What had gotten into him? He opened his eyes and rubbed a hand across his scaly forehead in frustration, getting out of bed and dressing himself for the day ahead. Rumple walked towards the his window, letting some light into the chamber. As he brushed the dark red curtains aside, he stared out into the snow.

To his surprise, he spotted Baelfire and Belle out in the midst of all the newly fallen snow in the cold morning air. He could see them laughing, rolling large volumes of snow on the ground. The snowball became so big that both Belle and Bae couldn't push it with their combined strengths.

Then in a split second, Rumplestiltskin was out in the courtyard observing them with a closer curious look.

Belle was leaning her full body weight against the pile of snow as it slowly rolled towards the others.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." Rumplestiltskin called, his voice echoing throughout the entire enclosed area.

Belle and Baelfire both looked shocked to see him standing there. With one raise of his hand he made the snow move, creating swirls of white powder which contributed to another large snowball.

"You can't use magic" The Beauty half laughed, interrupting his magic.

"Why ever not?" He questioned.

"Because building it yourself is the fun part!"

"Would you like to join us, papa?" Bae asked his father, hoping perhaps he would join in.

"Well I-" The Beast started, trying to think of a quick excuse.

"I refuse to be suckered into such childish activities." The Beast stated, turning around again , his back facing towards his maid and his son.

Belle saw the sudden disappointment in Bae's brown eyes as his father began to walk away.

Desperate to help Baelfire spend quality time with his father, Belle thought of a plan and she thought of it quick. Belle hid behind the large tree, hiding herself  
Belle crouched down to the frosty ground and gathered a ball of snow in her hands, impulsively throwing it in the direction of Rumplestiltskin. The Beauty ran behind a nearby tree, just large enough for a hiding spot.

Just as she had intended it, the snowball hit him directly in the back of the head.

Belle covered up her mouth to stop from herself from giggling loudly, giving away her hiding position. She could hear Baelfire laugh at the sight of his father getting hit with a snowball.

Then he disappeared out of sight and she took a deep breath in of the cold winter air.

"Hitting the Dark One with a snowball now that is a risky move." A voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

"I'll take my chances." She giggled, changing her current position to face him.

"It was a desperate attempt to keep you here actually, Baelfire wanted you to stay." She spoke then moved a couple inches closer to him, just close enough for him to her whisper.

"And to tell you a secret, I was kinda hoping you would stay too."

She reached out to grab his hand gently after her confession, but instead his hand resisted and he plunged a fistful of snow directly in the Beauty's face.

"Rumplestiltskin!" She gasped, shocked at his action.

"What goes around comes around dearie." He trilled, his nose crinkling with delight as he gave that addictive giggle that had her laughing with him.

Belle wiped the snow from her face and picked up another ball and threw it, as he dodged it without much effort. She ran quickly towards the half built snowman, hoping for some protection from Rumplestiltskin's retaliation.

Suddenly she is hit with a snowball from the back, which causes Belle to whip around looking for the fiend who had hit her. You could tell by Belle's face that she was confused, there was nobody behind her. Then the realization struck her.

"You're using magic!" She accused him.

"I did nothing of the sort." He stared the other way, avoiding her gaze.

Then suddenly Belle is hit again by a ball of snow, and a wicked grin is painted on Rumplestiltskin's face as she growls his name with playful frustration.

To help the Beauty win this treacherous snow fight, Bae created a small snowball and tried sneaking up behind his father, attempting to place it down his shirt. Rumple turned around just in time, detecting the boy and melting his snowball into nothing but a puddle in his hands.

"Its not fair if its two against one." Rumple's grin was still on his face as he looked down at his son.

"If you aren't playing fair, neither are we." She stated, throwing another one in his direction, while Baelfire continued to help her, building more snowballs to be used for throwing.

He had never gotten his father to play such games, but somehow Belle, their maid had managed to get him to do it.

All of a sudden the Beast runs at the Beauty, his hands filled with snow, and she runs the opposite way, grinning widely trying not to squeal with delight.

They eventually collide into each other, slipping on underneath ice, forcing Belle to fall right to the ground on her back. Rumple falls as well, directly ontop of her, pinning her into the snow. Their noses are so close they almost touch, and in that moment, they are in full body contact.

They laugh, which only makes matters worse, their bodies become even more intertwinded than before. Her chestnut hair is sprawled out in curls in the snow, and her skin is glowing with perfection. He is startled by the way she is looking at him, with wonder and joy in her eyes.

After the long moment, Rumple gets off of her, holding out a hand for her to help her up off the ground. She takes it and he lifts her off the snowy ground, brushing the snow off of her red jacket.

She hadn't mind being so close to him, something about him fascinated her and drew her to him. Belle was certain of it before, but now she had her proof, Rumplestiltskin had a heart.

He also remained somewhat stunned by their very close encounter. Belle was playful and curious, everything he was not. Yet there still was a sliver of hope that perhaps a Beauty would like a Beast like himself. The way she had looked at him was something else, something he had never experienced before-

It was impossible, it was better not to ponder and fantasize on these thoughts...

But then what if these thoughts weren't as crazy as they seemed?

The look she had have him, she had never looked at him that way before.

**Next chapter: Rumple has a very intimate dream about Belle, Baelfire suspects something is going on with his father and Regina visits the Dark Castle and is shocked when she learns the name of the caretaker there. Next update should be Thursday! Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you feel up to it ;)**


	10. A Venomous Plot

**Hey everyone! Just to clear things up, Cupid's bow enchantment wore off when Belle was locked up, it is 100% worn off! Enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Belle stood in the midst of a dark room. The moon shined through the window illuminating her silouhette in silvers and blues. Her long hair flowed passed her chest in long waves. Rumplestiltskin approached her slowly until they were in intimate body contact. Her soft hands gently rubbed through his tangled hair, brushing parts of his skin with her delicate fingernails . He gasped when Belle brought her red lips close to his neck, laying short kisses along the course of his face.

"Oh Belle, you have no idea how long I've wanted this." He whispered, barely able to regain his breath.

She smiled at his confession then pushed him onto the nearby bed, lunging towards him, straddling his waist where he could start to feel pressure in his leather pants.

"So you've longed for this for a while?" Belle questioned, her red lips puckered, kissing him once more lustfully on the mouth.

"You have no idea." He brought her hips closer to his, letting out pleasurable groans in the process, stroking the back of her soft hair.

The Beauty let out tiny giggles of delight, then sat up straight undoing the bright ribbons of her laced corset.

Rumplestiltskin awoke with a start from the alluring dream and gazed down at the wet sticky sheets under him. He moaned with displeasure at the guilt he felt regarding the dream, he had gotten off on the dream, about his maid of all people! He hadn't done such a thing since he could remember and the worse part was, he craved more.

Somehow it seemed as if the dream had only fueled his desire for the Beauty. Rumple walked into the bathroom and took in a deep breath, brushing the sweat away from his forehead, unaware that Baelfire lingered in the hallway beside him.

"You had a dream about Belle last night, didn't you?." The boy asked, catching Rumplestiltskin off guard.

"How on earth do you know that?"

"Because I could hear you sleep talk down the hall and you kept saying her name over and over again." Baelfire replied.

Rumplestiltskin then turned a dark shade of red against his green skin.

"Oh, I don't remember" he lied, shaking his head of the thoughts that taunted his mind.

"You just admitted to having a dream about her-" Bae argued, confused about what his father was trying to cover up.

"Go eat breakfast." Rumplestiltskin ordered, pointing towards the door, avoiding the subject any further.

Baelfire reluctantly did what his father asked, and made his way down to the dining hall to get himself a bowl of cereal.

The Beast remained in his chambers for a bit longer, taking a moment to collect himself and to attempt to erase the dream out of his mind. Suddenly Belle came in the chamber with a duster, startled that he was still in bed. Belle froze when she saw him laying there, as he did when he saw her come into the room.

"I'm sorry- I didn't realize you were still in bed.. I'll be quick with my dusting." Belle spoke, feeling rather flustered.

He held his head down then glanced awkwardly towards the window, Rumplestiltskin wanted to look anywhere asides from her face.

"Do you want me to take this off?" Belle questioned, while his eyes grew to the size of full moons.

"What?!" Rumple spoke, shocked by her question, his mind immediately reverting back to the dream he just had last night.

"This lamp do you want me to take it off the dresser while I dust it.." Belle spoke, realizing something was bothering him.

"It doesn't matter."

"Are you alright? you're acting rather strange."

"I'm fine. Do me a favor and make sure Baelfire has gotten breakfast." He demanded.

"Of course." She smiled, attempting at least once more to make any sort of eye contact with him, then she exited the room without any other words.

Belle made her way downstairs, dusting as she went along humming quietly to herself. Baelfire was sitting at the table, pouring milk into his bowl of cereal. She smiled at the boy warmly who have her a warm smile back.

"Looks like the snow is starting to melt." Belle pointed out, gesturing towards the large window in the room.

"It's about time, this winter has been too long to bare." Bae spoke taking a spoonful of cereal from his bowl and shoving it in his mouth like he hadn't eaten for days.

A cold breeze blew in when the front door opened. A woman entered the room, her face cluttered with fine makeup and over the top jewellery. Belle did her beat not to state at the woman's unusual apparel, she was dressed in an all black tight dress, with feathers tracing the top collar. The dark haired woman looked around then made we contact with Belle. Her expression was one made or of pure venom.

"I'm in need of the master of this castle." Her voice was demanding and strong.

Belle stood stunned at the presence of the woman, her thoughts unable to filter properly.

"I could of given you a proper greeting, had you knocked." Belle called out, blurting out exactly what was on her mind.

"You don't have to greet this witch." Baelfire growled, just loud enough for Regina to hear his comment.

Regina gave an irritated look to the brown headed boy then turned her attention back to Belle.

"Children never seem to take a liking to me- the poor things must be intimidated." Regina's tone turned rather charming and humorous.

"Yeah that's it." Bae spoke sarcastically, gaining the Queen's irritability.

"It seems as if we have gotten off on the wrong foot, We haven't properly introduced, what is your name dear?" The Queen asked the Beauty, who stood in the corner of the room.

"My name is Belle."

_Belle._

_Could it be?_

_Belle of Avonlea, treasured princess and daughter to Lord Maurice._ She matched the description of undeniable beauty and blue eyes Gaston had described to her. Regina was certain this was the same Belle, Gaston had been right, she had escaped from her tower and now she held residence in the Dark One's castle as his wench.

Then the Evil Queen's thoughts were interrupted as Rumplestiltskin came down the stairs, sensing her bold and irritating presence.

"Ah Rumple, I was just being introduced to your very pretty little maid."

"Get away from her Belle!" He ordered, stepping in front of her protectively.

The Beauty had never heard his voice that aggressive in giving an order to her before. However, with Rumplestiltskin in front of her, Belle was no longer afraid of the strange woman and felt safe and protected.

"You're not welcome here Regina." He growled, his voice deep and defensive.

"Oh but we used to know each other so well, or have you forgotten?" Regina smirked.

"You can trust me, I have not forgotten." He mumbled.

"Why are you here?"

"For a visit, Rumple." Her eyes scanned around the main room discretely for any sign of the his dagger.

"Belle please take Baelfire upstairs." Rumplestiltskin spoke, touching the Beauty's shoulders gently directing her towards the staircase.

Belle gave him a startled and unsettled look but he reassured her with a slight nod of the head. She walked over to Baelfire and hurried him upstairs, away from the sight of the Queen. Once the Beauty had disappeared from sight, Rumple caught Regina snooping around.

"It's not here, dearie."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked innocently.

"The dagger, do you think me a fool to keep it somewhere as my own castle?" He remarked, knowing exactly what the Queen was searching for.

"I'm on to whatever you're up to, Regina. You are never going to be more powerful then me, you can keep trying dearie, but you're never going to beat me" Rumplestiltskin spoke through his teeth.

She smiled at his defensive comments, casually strolling over to the large table and picked up a bright red apple and taking a large bite out of it.

"Power?" She scoffed.

"You've been sending the Hatter to spy on me, now that's low even for you Rumple."

"I like to know what I'm up against." He smirked.

"You should back down now, we both know how this will end. The apprentice never beats the teacher." Rumple hissed.

"We'll see about that." The Queen grinned wickedly, leaving the castle without another word.

When the Queen had left, Belle, who had been standing on the top of the stairs, had come back down and confronted Rumplestiltskin. She had heard the entire conversation between the two, it was clear they were rivals in the most brutal manner.

"What was that all about?" Belle asked, her voice was not much more then a low whisper.

"Just a minor problem, nothing to be worried about." He assured the Beauty.

"What was she talking about? You two were close as in-" She trailed off implying perhaps a romantic relationship had occurred.

Realizing what Belle was getting at, Rumplestiltskin stopped her mid sentence.

"No, no its nothing like that, I trained her, the woman everyone knows now as the Evil Queen was once my apprentice." He responded fidgeting his fingers, still not allowing himself to look upon Belle's fair complexion.

"Is Regina that evil that people must call her the _Evil_ Queen? Belle asked, confused by the motives of the strange woman.

Rumplestiltskin started to slowly make his way towards the middle of the room, briefly looking back at her to answer her question.

"Let's just say I will make sure she never comes near you or Bae ever again."

* * *

Regina stormed into Avonlea castle, annoyed at what had occurred at the Dark Castle. She had recovered no information on the whereabouts of the dagger asides the fact that it was not in his castle. However, she had saw his maid with the same name of the supposed dead princess of Avonlea, Gaston's ex fiancée.

Her heels clapped with sass as she walked down the long main hallway. She looked the her left and saw a grand china cabinet full of colourful decorations. Then with a wave of magic to shatter all the glass decorations forcing them to smash on the ground in irritable rage. Regina then barged into the dining hall where Gaston sat at the head of the table with a feast placed out in front of him.

"Those were antique." Gaston informed, hearing the disturbance the Queen had caused in the corridor.

Observing Regina's dirty scowl, he could tell something was bothering her. She seemed confident in her plan to get the dagger from Rumplestiltskin, but he did not need words to know that her plan had failed miserably.

"What happened at the Dark One's castle?" He questioned curiously.

"Something that you wouldn't believe in your wildest dreams." She pursed her lips, noticing herself in a mirror and fixing her hair.

"I had very interesting run in.. with his maid." She trailed off until he cut her off abruptly.

"Why should I care who you run into? What was the name of this wench you seemed to be so interested in?" He took a big sip out of his wine, raising a thick brow at her.

"Her name is Belle." Regina emphasized the name, awaiting a response.

Then after hearing the name, the wine he consumed spat out of his mouth and onto his plate.

"It would seem as if that Beast got her out of that tower somehow, now she works as his wench. It all comes down to the fact that she is the rightful heir to Avonlea." Regina spoke, contemplating the decisions that have to be made regarding this girl.

"I still don't understand what Avonlea has value to you?" Gaston narrowed his stare towards the Queen.

Then Regina with the flick of her wrist, had a black ancient looking book in her hands.

"This is the thing that will help us defeat Rumplestiltskin." Regina ignored his question and carried on with her own personal agenda.

Regina held the book in her hands, tracing the indented designs with her black finger nails. Gaston observed quietly unsure of how this simple binding of paper would help them defeat the most powerful man in the entire Enchanted Forest.

"It's a book." Gaston stated, confused on how this related to having control of his kingdom.

"It's a powerful a spell book, my poor ignorant Gaston. And in this tiny little book contains a spell so powerful it will be able to take down Rumplestiltskin."

From Gaston's blank gaze Regina started explaining her diabolical plan further.

"In order for this spell to be successful, I am in need of a village, inhabited with many people, such as Avonlea is. Once the spell is activated, it will consume souls and destroy the village to fuel its power."

"But why Avonlea?" Gaston urged.

"Avonlea was the closest village to the Dark Castle. It is also one we have full control over." Regina shrugged carelessly.

"What exactly will this spell unleash?" Gaston asked grimly, his voice had grown low with a twinge of seriousness.

A wicked curve formed on the Queens ruby lips.

"A terrible monster."

**So the purpose of the last couple chapters was to get more of an insight into the minds of Gaston and Regina... sorry if they seem a little confusing. Next Chapter: Spring has finally arrived! Belle and Rumple go for a stroll around the gardens and Baelfire sets up a dinner for them and Belle decides to tell the truth to Rumple. Next chapter update will be Wednesday or Thursday! Leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	11. Roses and Thorns

The spring had come, slowly and sneakily without detection, wiping away the once cold treacherous winter.

Regina and Gaston remained in the shelter of their castles until it was their time to strike. The Queen kept a watchful eye on the beauty and the beast however, through the magic of her mirrors. Her visit to the Dark Castle wasn't a complete waste of time, in the main chamber of the Dark One's living room she had planted a small mirror above the fireplace, just in the perfect spot to spy and reveal all Rumplestiltskin's future plans.

Rumplestiltskin span at his wheel peacefully, while Baelfire leaned against one of the nearby walls, drawing pictures with his finger on the foggy window.

"What are you up to, Bae?" Rumple asked curiously, his mind being taken off his spinning for a brief moment, turning to gaze towards his son.

"Nothing." He mumbled, obviously bored with what he was currently occupied with.

Belle entered the room humming gently to herself, placing her broom at the side of the wall. Then as if a switch flipped, he perked up, an idea coming to his mind.

"What are you humming about?" He asked her, amused by her chipper presence.

"I suppose I'm just in a wonderful mood." she nearly sang, continuing to gently hum to herself.

"Papa, it's looking nice outside, the sun is gone and most of the snow has gone, perhaps we should all go for a stroll."

"I don't know-" Rumple hesitated and returned to his spinning.

"I would love to!" Belle outburst unable to control her excitement, her joyous mood becoming contagious.

Baelfire grinned excitedly and then turned his attention to his father.

"Papa, are you coming too?" He asked, his innocent brown eyes almost impossible to turn down.

After Rumple's reluctant agreement, the three of them walked together among the stone path. There still remained patches of snow amongst the green grass and the snow capped mountains remained clearly displayed in the distance.

"Do you think the pond is still frozen papa?" Bae asked running over to the area of frozen water, reaching out his leg to test the durability of the thin ice.

"I would rather you not test it out." He advised, keeping a watchful eye on his son. Belle observed the relationship between father and son, and though it seemed strained at times, there was no doubt that Baelfire loved his father deeply and only wished for his approval.

"He looks up to you quite a bit you know." Belle spoke, walking slowly beside Rumplestiltskin through the gardens. When he did not answer right away, still intently watching Baelfire who had both feet on top of the ice now, his arms spread out for delicate balance.

"I think every son looks up to his father." Belle continued to speak, imagining her father who yearned for a son but was bestowed with a daughter instead.

"Yes, but some fathers aren't meant to be looked up to, my father was a terrific example of that." Rumple growled in his throat, a tone Belle recognized when something was bothering him.

"What happened?" She hesitated, but eventually got the words out.

"He was a coward, he abandoned me when I was just a young boy." He confessed, his brown eyes filled with a type of sadness Belle had never seen before.

When Belle looked upon him again she saw something, _something human._ Emotion filled with humanity, which made a warm sensation burn in the center of her heart.

"I'm really sorry, that must have been tough." She apologized, staring down at her feet, as silence took over their stroll.

They both watched Bae in the distance play around the pond, splashing around in the newly broken frozen water.

"He has quite the imagination." Rumple chuckled, admiring Baelfire from afar.

"He is a very special boy." She agreed, joining in on his slight laughter.

"Bae's nightmares seemed to have paused, he hasn't been complaining about them anymore." Rumple spoke, adding on to their limited conversation.

Belle had almost forgotten about the dreams her and the boy had shared. The same horrifying monstrous creature that managed to send chills down her spine at the very thought of it. She found that the more she pushed the startling dream to the back of her mind, the better she was able to sleep at night, without asking herself a million questions and theorizing about the nightmare.

She tried to shake off her thoughts and wanted to change the the subject completely. Out of the corner of her eye, Belle then spotted a tiny twig along the path and picked it up in her hands, remembering an old magic trick her father used to show her when she was just a girl.

"Do you want to see a trick?" She asked Rumplestiltskin, attempting to get her mind off the creepy nightmare.

"Well this is ought to be good." He mused, taking a step back from her to get a better view.

"You're not the only one around here who can do magic, Rumplestiltskin." She gloated playfully, fiddling the twig between her fingers.

She quickly broke the stick in two, just small enough hat the two ends could for in the palms of her hand. Carefully, Belle placed a twig in each hand and closed her hands.

"Okay, which hand is the twig in?" She asked him innocently, holding out her two fists towards him.

"Is this a trick question? There in both hands." He stated.

"Just pick a hand" She urged, awaiting his choice.

Rumple pointed a scaly finger to her right hand, which she opened, revealing it to be bare.

"Open the other hand." He demanded, not understanding what had just occurred.

Belle opened her left hand, revealing her other hand to be empty as well. Rumplestiltskin had to admit, he was rather impressed with the childish trick his maid had shown, but as always, he had to impress her more.

"That's a good trick dearie, but can you do this?" Rumple raised his eyebrows at the Beauty and began to concentrate on the dirt in front of them. Then before her eyes, a thorny bush grew out of the ground, sprouting bright green leaves, bearing only one crimson rose.

"It's the first rose of the season. I suppose it's a earlier bloomer." He grinned, while Belle stood in awe.

"Here." He bent down and picked the prickly rose and held out the bright red flower towards her. Belle took she brought it gently up to her nose and taking a sniff of its light pleasant odor.

"Why thank you." She curtsied which he obliged with a gentlemen-like bow.

"Roses are my favourite, gentle and soft in the inside but thorny and prickly on the outside. It kind of reminds me of someone." Belle laughed knowingly referring to him.

"Not soft at all, I'm prickly all around dearie."

"I don't believe that." She opposed him.

"You should."

Then the sun hit Belle perfectly, tinting her hair an auburn colour, making her eyes even bluer than they were. He was lost in awe at her beauty, beauty that she didn't even realize she had, which made her all the more beautiful.

"Do you want me to teach you some real magic?" He asked her softly.

"Teach me magic? I don't think that's such a good idea." Belle shook her head.

"It's almost harmless. Just the flick of the wrist" He grinned encouragingly giving another hand movement with caused another bright flower to prematurely bloom from the frosted soil.

"That looks easy enough." Belle observed eager to impress her employer.

Belle stood of straight and faced a patch of soil, just as he had done. She prepared herself well, but with the flick of her wrist came nothing.

"I told you, I can't do it." She complained, moving closer to him unintentionally.

"Magic is about emotion, you have to feel it and believe it." His breath was short against the top of her neck now.

He stood close behind her, his hand sliding up the arch of her back showing her the proper form. Trying to concentrate, Belle tried once more attempting her best to ignore his gentle touch upon her. Then as his hand slid up her back, her wrist snapped and she blew an explosive hole in the ground.

Her eyes opened wide, shocked at what she had just done.

"A bit of practice wouldn't hurt dearie." Rumple took a couple steps back from her, nea impressed at the amount of damage she had done to the poor soil.

"I don't think I'm the magic type." She looked at the explosive hole she had made then looked back up at him for further direction.

"You're right." He smiled and giggled childishly.

After hours of fresh air, the three of them made their way back inside and sat themselves at the main dining table, a large feast placed on the table.

"Ladies first, you may dish out first Belle." He spoke, gesturing her to help herself.

"Wow, I'm allowed to eat first even if I cannot do a simple spell?" She spoke sarcastically a playful grin on her red lips.

"You, my dear, are fine just the way you are, without magic. I would fear for my gardens otherwise." He chuckled.

Belle started to laugh at his joke, not realizing that their hands were brushing against one another on the table. Rumplestiltskin then stood out of his chair, with an important announcement he had to make.

"I found out the man's name, the one who has been working with Regina."

"Who is it?" Baelfire questioned, starting to dish out his plate of food.

"His name is Gaston, Lord of Avonlea. Jefferson identified him while he and Regina were conspiring with one another out in the open."

Belle stared with absent minded horror, pulling her hand away from his and placing it on her lap underneath the table.

"What's wrong Belle? This man is not one to fear." Rumple assured her.

A lump formed in the Beauty's through as she tried to swallow hard. Gulping and taking a deep breath in, she took hold of the dining table for balance. She was feeling light headed and abnormally dizzy. Her voice was as soft as a whisper and with a shaky breath Belle muttered:

"I think it's time I told you how exactly I got in that tower."

**Next Chapter: A flashback to Belle's old life in Avonlea and the backstory on how she ended up in the tower. Next update should be this Saturday! I am trying to update every Saturday from now on instead of random days during the week. Thanks for reading! Oh and don't worry a rumbelle kiss is just around the corner! Leave a review and let me know what you think :)**


	12. Unravelled Truth

**_~The Royal family of Avonlea welcomes you to the engagement party of Princess Belle and Sir Gaston~_**

**_4 years ago..._**

The grand ballroom was filled with hundreds of people, dressed in their finest apparel, conversing with one another and making pitiful conversation that no one would remember when the returned home. They were all there to witness the celebration of the future marriage of Sir Gaston, a dashing handsome royal, and his bride to be, Princess Belle.

Belle was young and valuable, linked to wealth and power, which had caught Gaston's interest from the very beginning. On top of it all, she was without a doubt one of the most fair and beautiful women in the entire Enchanted Forest. Their marriage would link ties between the two royal families in Avonlea, creating a peace treaty amongst the kingdom.

However, there was one technicality that doomed this marriage before it would even begin: The Beauty's heart was pure, while Gaston's heart was corrupted and rotten.

He hadn't been cruel to her at first, oh no, he was a gentleman once, someone with compassion, the most eligible bachelor in all of Avonlea. He was handsome and his family and power and money, it was a very agreeable and advantageous match. All the other women in the village wept over the fact that he was no longer a bachelor, but instead due to be married to the odd princess who had a burning love for books.

Everything seemed fine and right with the world at one point, Belle would go through with the marriage regardless of her absent love for the groom. However, it was a sacrifice she was glad to make if it meant peace.

But Gaston was cunning and conceided, his kind hearted facade was played well. He had fooled most of the people in Avonlea, but Belle was not one of them.

The Beauty had seen his true colours when they were alone. He had treated her unequally and made her feel anything but valuable.

She was stuck, forced to marry such a brute, he treated her poorly and had an overly high sex drive.

She was a princess, her duty was to her kingdom. She had once believed that fate was something decided by the beholder, but she had been trapped into this arranged marriage for too long and it would break her fathers heart. Maurice had picked Gaston for her hand in marriage, believing it had been the best for his daughter. Belle wouldn't go back on his decision, no matter how horrible Gaston proved to be, she would be his wife, for the sake of her family, and the kingdom.

She remembered the night of the Ball so clearly.

They stood together down an isolated decorated hallway, her golden dress draped tightly over her small waist, her brown hair curled down her back. Gaston and Belle were waiting to make their appearance to the guests. A couple of woman walked passed, cleavage over flowing from the top of their scadily clad dresses.

Gaston's eyes wandered towards the women, who were happy to oblige and shoot him a flirtatious wink back.

"You sure stare at women a lot even though you have a fiancée." Belle pointed out, her face in disgust at his actions.

"My dear Belle, I endulge myself in other activities more intimate things then simply staring." He smirked at her.

"I don't know what my father sees in you." She spat, unable to even look at the man any longer without vomiting.

Her father.

She was doing all this for him. It's all he ever wanted, was for her to get her happy ending. It was a shame that no such thing existed in her world, a world filled of wealth, materials and arranged marriages.

"Perhaps if you would hurry up and bare me a son, I wouldn't have to look elsewhere for... Release."

"You're absoultely despicable" she spat, turning away, but his arm gripped hers pulling her roughly back towards him.

"How about tonight? We don't have to stay here at this silly ball, we can have a ball of our own back in my chambers."

"I told you I'm not ready... Not until out wedding night" She ripped her arm back, wanting to vomit at the thought.

That's when he hit her, strong and hard across the cheek, causing her to cower with disbelief at what had just occurred.

"Touch me again and I will have our wedding called off." She threatened, partially bluffing.

_"W_hat if I want to touch you? There is nothing you can do about it, Princess." He forced her body closer to his and she felt herself losing any chance of hope.

"Tonight I'm going to put a baby inside you, to make us marry sooner." Gaston whispered into her ear as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Your father won't live forever, and I'm rather eager to my title to your insignificant little town." He pushed her into a wall, holding her chin in his rough hands, forcing a sloppy kiss from her

"What's going on here?" A voice sounded from behind them.

They both turned their attention to the man who was now standing in the secluded hallway with them. Belle recognized him from other royal events, his name was Prince James, the one who was due to marry Snow White. Before Belle had the chance to respond, Gaston stepped in front of her and confronted the Prince.

"Whatever is going on is none of your business, Charming." He growled in his throat, paying no further attention to him.

Prince James ignored Gaston and walked towards Belle.

"Is everything alright?" He questioned, weary of the man who called himself her "fiance"

She sniffled and wiped her eyes, nodding at the Prince. Then straightened herself up, Belle picked up her skirts and stormed away to the rest of the guests awaiting for her appearance.

She was just in time, she stood beside her father who was making an announcement.

"As everyone is well aware, my daughter is due to marry next month." Maurice's voice boomed throughout the large room.

The whole crowd of guests cheered, clapping and whistling, their attention focused on the supposed "happy" couple.

If they only knew.

Belle put on a fake smile, pretending to be excited and happy for this occasion though she felt as if she was dying inside. The crowd let out another loud cheer while all eyes were on the Beauty and her fiancé.

Belle wanted to faint. Belle wanted to escape.

Gaston grinned widely at the affectionate crowd then made eye contact with his soon to be bride, taking ahold of her hand and intertwining it with his.

Lord Maurice raised his golden chalice towards them. "To the future King and Queen of Avonlea." He toasted cheerfully, taking a bug gulp of the wine as everyone else imitated him.

After the toast, she had managed to calm herself down a little and restrain herself from punching Gaston in the face.

"Gifts are in order. Though your wedding is still a month away, we expect a very advantageous marriage from both of you, let there be many heirs to the throne of Avonlea!" Maurice spoke, standing up off his throne and handed Belle a tiny silver box.

"For you my girl, it was your mother's" He whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

Belle opened the rectangular gift to reveal a golden bracelet which seemed to shimmer like diamonds from the lighting.

"Thank you papa, I love it." She hugged him tightly, a single tear ran own her cheek.

Then a woman approached Belle, her hair as black as raven and her skin as white as snow. A wide pearly smile was painted on her lovely face as she came closer to Belle, who still remained the centre of all attention.

"I have a gift, for you and your betrothed as well." She clearly announced holding up a silver chain.

"This will predict the gender of your first child. If it sways east to west it's a girl, and north to south it's a boy." Snow imitated the movements with the silver pendant necklace.

"Let's hope for a north to south." Gaston shouted and most people laughed, except for James who stared in the distance feeling weary and unsure of Gastons questionable character.

Then much to her protest, Snow held the necklace over Belle's stomach, as much as the Princess resented it. She held her breath and shut her eyes tight while some of the people in the crowd let out whispers and gasps at the outcome.

"What's going on?" Belle whispered to Snow, her eyes still half shut.

"It's not moving." The raven headed princess stated.

"What does that mean?" Belle opened her eyes, turning to Snow slowly.

"It would seem as if you are..."

"what?" Belle demanded to know and understand what exactly was going on.

"infertile."

The room seemed to spin in slow motion as Belle looked up at Gaston whose face scowled. Most guests did not see the outcome of the necklace's prediction

"It is after all a myth." Snow trailed off unsure of what to do or say in this siutation.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Gaston pretended to brush off the most current event and grabbed Belle by the wrist and led her upstairs.

When they reached the closest bedroom, he threw her down on the mattress and paced back and forth.

"Infertile?" His eyes narrowed at her.

"It means I am unable to have children." She stated.

"I am well aware of the meaning! Did you know this before?"

"Of course not!" Belle sat up angrily at his accusation.

"After all it is just some silly myth." She protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps you are right, I suppose we will just have to prove them wrong." He moved towards her in a lunging motion, clasping her head in his large hands, placing another forced kiss on her lips.

The Beauty pushed the brute away with all her strength, slapping him quick and hard across his bony cheeks.

"I'm done with you treating me like I'm nothing! I am to be your wife! You have to start treating me like a lady-or at least like a human being!" Belle raged fiercely.

"Don't be like that." He pulled her close against him once more. She grasped a nearby lamp and smashed it over his head, knocking him out cold.

"You're not getting any children from me you bastard."

Then another flashback came to mind after the first, the memory just as clear as the last.

A wounded soldier ran up to Belle, his boots coated with blood, leaving a thick trail behind him. Other wounded soldiers took up residence in the castle, moaning with discomfort and pain.

"The ogres have invaded, Hovenly has fallen, as your father has. He died an honourable death fighting for his kingdom. He was stabbed and found just outside the castle gates."

"It can't be." Belle protested unwilling to believe such horrific news.

"Lord Maurice is dead!" The other men weeped sadly while the beauty found herself unable to move heavily invested in a state of shock.

Gaston suddenly walked through the doors and approached Belle, who remained speechless.

"Is it true what these men have been telling me? Is my father dead?!" She spat out angrily at her fiancé.

"It is. I'm sorry m'lady." He confirmed making no attempt to comfort her.

Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, soaking and staining her dress.

"Avonlea is not safe anymore! The ogres will keep killing and people will keep on dying!" Belle outburst in a state of devastation.

"My dear Belle, you will not be staying here in Avonlea any longer."

"What on earth are you talking about? These are my people!" Belle nearly yelled appalled at Gaston's words.

"You're no longer of any use to me anymore. Since you have the inability to bare me a child, you will be sent elsewhere... for the rest of your days."

"You cannot do this!"

"Indeed I can, after all the title of Lord is mine now, and if you say anything about this new arrangement, I will slaughter every single mother, child and soldier in this room."

Her eyes were filled with disbelief and betrayal.

Belle did not repeat or tell anyone about the threats that Gaston had placed upon her, afraid of what he would do if she had. The Avonlean Princess was thrown recklessly into a tower, driven nearly mad with loneliness and hurt.

While Gaston lead Avonlea to power, revealing that Belle had been tragically killed, announcing himself to be the one true ruler and in line to the throne. As far as the kingdom knew, father and daughter had both been murdered by the events of the ogres war, making Gaston the most powerful man in Avonlea.

Belle sat in front of Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire awaiting a response to the story she had just vividly illustrated.

"Oh Belle, I had no idea that's how you got in the tower." Baelfire tried to comfort her as best as he could.

Belle nodded gravely, her bright blue eyes were glossy with thought.

"When Gaston found out I couldn't do the one thing he wished for most, he sent me away. My kingdom has mourned me, thinking I am dead! While that thick chinned brute is treated like a hero."

Rumplestiltskin remained silent throughout her entire wrenching confession. Instead he was endlessly lost in thoughts of bringing torture upon the man who did such a horrifying thing to her.

"I need some air." He spoke, feeling the anger fuel up inside him. He then stormed into the dining hall and was halfway to the balcony when Belle ran after him.

"I'm sorry. I just thought you should know who you are up against." Belle spoke, running after him, afraid that she had said something that offended him.

Rumple let out a fake dry laugh.

"You're sorry? Belle that man locked you away, for what could have been the rest of your life! You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. That good for nothing son of a bitch on the other hand.."

Suddenly Belle took his hand in hers and clasped their palms together with an attempt to calm him down.

"Getting revenge is not the answer, at one point I desired revenge, but now that I have been free I know that it is never the answer."

"You are too good for your own good, Belle." Rumplestiltskin spoke, becoming calm once more, relaxed by the fact that she still was holding is hand tightly.

"He locked you in that tower because you cannot bare children?" He questioned.

"I suppose that was a part of it. I was standing in the way of many of his plans and he was more than happy to send me away." She responded.

"Gaston wanted heirs, strapping boys who would become strong soldiers. That's what I thought about most days in the tower, the children I would never be able to have. That's why when I became close with Bae- I pretended that..that-"

"That what?" Rumple's tone was becoming aggressively anxious to what the princess was trying to say.

"That I was being a mother." she admitted.

"You did?" He questioned, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest at her latest confession.

"Every girl dreams of children, Rumple."

Thats when the tears started, she had manage not to cry up until this point but all the frustration and resentment towards her past seemed to surface all at once. Then for the first time, the Beast took the Beauty by surprise and pulled her into a soft warm embrace. Belle's head was resting on his leather shoulder as he held her, taking in his scent and sense of comfort.

"I'm sorry no one ever rescued you from that tower like you wanted." He whispered gently into her ear, softly brushing stray curls away from her face.

The Beauty, hearing his words broke apart from him and smiled.

"Don't be sorry."

"Why ever not?" He was truly confused at her sudden change of heart.

"Because someone did come for me...you did." Belle whispered.

Their faces were just inches apart now, just one move and their lips would touch. Rumplestiltskin remained frozen where he stood, the hand she held seemed to be cutting off circulation to his brain, causing him to be utterly lost for words. Belle however built up the courage to angle and move her lips towards his.

Just as their lips were about to touch, Belle abruptly pulled away realizing Baelfire had entered the room. Her cheeks were blushing red from embaressment as she turned to face the young boy.

"Belle, will you read me another story tonight?" He asked, completely oblivious to what he had just interrupted.

Belle smiled and nodded her head. "Go wait for me upstairs, I'll be there in a minute."

As Baelfire began to walk away his pace slowed as he turned around to face Belle and his father. His next words caused Belle's heart to melt and stopped anymore tears from falling.

"Belle, I wanted you to know that no matter what has happened in the past, you have found a home here, with us."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter... it was a little longer then I expected it to be but I felt as if I needed to go into Belle's past relationship with Gaston In detail.**

** Next Chapter: A Rumbelle dance! Belle builds up courage to do something and Rumple confesses to Belle his cowardly past. Next update should be Saturday! Thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you think!**


	13. Kisses and Curses

Regina had witnessed it all.

The enchanted mirror she had planted in the Dark Castle allowed her to get the upper hand, she was now able to spy on Rumplestiltskin without him even knowing. The Evil Queen had kept her eyes on the mirror for days, watching the Dark One's every move, seeing nothing of interest or importance up until last night.

Last night, she had witnessed first hand something she never would have imagined to see.

It was painfully obvious that the imp was in love with none other then his own wench. The same wench who also happened to be the princess and rightful heir to the throne of Avonlea. She was the only daughter of a Lord, a princess born into the life of superiority and grace, while Rumplestiltskin was a manipulative cruel monster.

Despite the circumstances, even a blind man could see that there was something more to both of them then met the eye. They had shared an intimate moment last night which would have resulted in a kiss if it hadn't been interrupted.

Regina upon discovering this, instantly summoned Gaston to visit her at her castle the following day, eager to share the new information to him regarding his previous fiancée.

The brute arrived at the castle at her demand, unsure and curious to why the Queen had summoned his presence. It could not already be the time to strike against Rumplestiltskin, and Gaston couldn't think of any other possible explanations.

He found Regina in her chambers, who was innocently polishing off her collection of jewellery and placing them back in the delicate case she had them in before.

"You wished for my presence?" Gaston called from the door, walking up to the Queen and greeting her with a wet deep kiss.

"Yes, I did indeed." Regina absently replied to his question, hungry for another one of his kisses.

"You seem to be in a rather good mood." Gaston observed, his hand tightly attached to her hip, trying to seductively nibble at the top of her neck as Regina spoke.

"I am" Regina cooed, pulling him towards her large bed and pushing him down onto her mattress, forcing Gaston to fall on the cushions on his back. She jumped on top of him dominantly and continued their string of affectionless kissing.

"The mirror I planted in the Dark Castle has become more than useful to us." Regina managed to let the words to escape out of her mouth, a wicked grin curved on her blood red lips as his mouth was on her neck.

"How so? What have you seen?" He asked.

"It would seem that your Belle has become quite cozy at her current residence, she is becoming uncomfortably close with the Dark One." Regina mused tauntingly.

"-She must be eliminated then- she could ruin everything we plan-" Gaston urged his plea to the Queen, recalling the threat of perhaps one day Belle would return to Avonlea and take back her father's crown.

Upon hearing his words, Regina abruptly broke apart from him and stood up in front of the large luxurious bed.

"This makes Belle a very valuable chess piece now." She nearly snapped at Gaston, now she walked towards the large silver mirror in the corner of the room. Completely ignoring the conversation, Regina stared at her reflection and fixed her black hair, brushing off her feathered black slimming dress.

"Don't you understand? The Dark One has fallen in love with the princess."

"A beast in love with a beauty? Are you quite sure, Regina?"

"Trust me, I know love Gaston.. and the Dark One is in it. I think our little predicament has a very large advantage."

"I am not sure I understand" He admitted, still laying on her bed, his head of black hair ruffled and messy from their previous promiscuous actions.

"My dear Gaston" Regina spoke slowly.

"Belle is going to be the key to help us destroy Rumplestiltskin."

* * *

The next morning, Rumplestiltskin made his way downstairs and was surprised to see Belle in the living room. She was sound asleep on one of the cushioned sofas, her head resting upon a golden small pillow. The fireplace crackled peacefully, illuminating her rosy cheeks and fair pink complexion., while the blue simple peasant dress she wore hugged the curves of her body.

The Dark One couldn't stop himself from staring at the sight.

Belle's shiny chestnut hair flowed down past her chest, her arms cuddling the lovely frame of her face.

"Papa what are you doing? Bae questioned, having observed his father hopelessly staring at the Beauty.

"Nothing" Rumplestiltskin turned away from Belle quickly and faced the other direction like he wasn't interested.

Then Baelfire's mouth nearly hit the tiles of the floor.

"You like her!" Bae smiled with his accusation, piecing together the pieces, making sense of most of his fathers uncharacteristic actions in the past couple months or so.

"I mean you **_like_ **her."

"What? I do not." Rumple spoke in an offended tone, acting as though what Bae had said was absolutely preposterous.

Baelfire sighed, inching towards his father with a smug grin painted on his face.

"Papa, I've seen the way you look at her... she is very beautiful."

"I haven't noticed." He cut his son off trying to ignore what he had just said, knowing that he had a point, he did tend to stare at her a lot. Baelfire knew he had a point as well, he saw right through his father's denial. Rumplestiltskin had tried hard to keep his feelings hidden, refusing on acting on such human emotions.

"Why don't you ask her to dinner, just the two of you?" Bae suggested.

"Like a date?" Rumple scoffed pretending to be uninterested in the thought.

Baeflire nodded at his father's question.

"What's the harm?" The boy attempted to persuade his father "You ask Belle to dinner, she'll say yes, you both will have a great time." He urged, holding the top of his father's shoulder with reassurance.

Rumplestiltskin instantly knew that he son was right, slowly and steadily he had allowed himself to attach himself onto Belle. No longer could he bury the feelings he tried so hard to cover up. He was a beast, a monster, and he was in love with his beautiful little maid that lived in his castle with him.

Belle then awoke to the sound of their voices, her long thick eyelashes batted innocently at her sudden awakening. As she got up, she noticed the two boys staring at her as if she had gone insane. Her expression grew to one of alarm as she quickly sat herself up, poising and fixing herself up.

"I must have fallen asleep here last night." Belle admitted feeling embarrassed, stretching her arms and letting out a loud yawn as she got up.

Baelfire and Rumple were both relieved that the Beauty had herd none of their previous conversation. Baelfire had dispersed by the time the Beauty was fully awake, resorting back to his chambers to give the two of them some privacy.

Rumple made a sound in his throat, trying to cover up the silence that had briefly taken over the space of the living room. Belle blushed, nodding to him a good morning gesture then quickly assembling her cleaning supplies together, preparing herself for the daily chores that needed to be tended to.

"Belle" Rumplestiltskin called as she began to walk away, catching her attention immediately.

"Yes?"

Then it was if he had forgotten the entire English language all at once. Words seemed impossible, as long as her bright blue eyes were on him.

"I uhh.." He started, clearing his throat once more before beginning his sentence over.

"I was wondering if you would accompany me to dinner tonight-"

"Dinner? Just the two of us?" Belle questioned, raising her eyebrows at him.

Rumple nodded, a gigantic lump growing and forming in his throat with each second that passed when she did not respond back.

"I'd like that." She replied, a faint blush flustered her cheeks as a smile grew on her expression.

He tried to hide his smile at the acceptance of his invitation, and tried to play it cool for the rest of the conversation that followed.

"I will meet you at exactly eight o'clock at the bottom of the stairs." He confirmed firmly.

The Beauty smiled at him, hiding her blush cheeks as she turned away, anticipating the evening that lay ahead of her. He had asked her to dinner, the Dark One himself and the princess was happy about it. She could not explain the twinge of excitement or the hasty reply she gave to his invitation.

All Belle had to do now was wait for the hour to arrive, worrying about the various dresses she had in her closet that Rumplestiltskin had generously given to her.

Rumplestiltskin was no different. He spent the rest of his day in his chambers, fidgeting over what he would things he would say to her and what to possibly wear to impress a girl such as Belle.

The night had to be absolutely _perfect._

When the clock struck eight o'clock, Belle sat in her room dressed for dinner and stared at herself in the mirror. Her face was powdered with the finest makeup, yet she still felt self conscious of what she looked like. Taking a deep breath in, Belle walked out of her room and began to walk down the grand staircase. She had dressed herself in her royal golden dress which was tucked tightly around her waist. Her chestnut hair was curled in ringlets flowing past her chest and she straightened her voluminous skirt. Belle descended the steps of the large staircase with all of the grace and poise she had been born with.

She took a deep breath in when she saw Rumplestiltskin standing at the bottom of the staircase, dressed as a gentleman would in a formal suit. Her mind immediately turned back to worrying on what he thought of her, how she looked.

_Had she powdered her nose enough? Were her lips perfectly red?_

The closer she came towards him, the faster and more frequent her breathing became. Her thoughts became scattered with each step closer until she was facing him, her mind completely blank of words to say.

"You look very beautiful." He stated lowly, holding out his hand for her to grasp.

"Thank you" The Beauty responded to his comment, taking his outreached hand in hers as he led her into the grand ballroom.

Belle gasped at the sight of it.

The ballroom was nothing like she'd left it. Sheer golden curtains hung around the large windows, catching starlight in their shimmering folds. The table had been moved to the side of the room, out of the way and decorated with more food than they could ever hope to eat. The floor had been polished to a reflective glimmering shine, capturing glimpses and shadows of stars from the vast open windows. In the corner, an enchanted band played with many golden expensive-looking instruments but no people to play them.

It was absolutely breathtaking.

From the midst of the magical golden splendor, Rumpelstiltskin came towards her, and she noticed what he was wearing. Rumplestiltskin was dressed in a fine black leather suit with long complementary coat-tails. He stopped a few inches in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back and an expression of nervous pride on his dark features.

He blinked twice, unable to read Belle's mind at her opinion of the change.

"Well, dearie?" he asked softly. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," The princess praised, unable to make up her mind whether she should fix her gaze on the room or on him. She finally decided to meet his gaze and their stares locked on one another for a long moment.

"I love it" Belle whispered, causing Rumpelstiltskin to grin widely with child-like delight.

"Good! I was hoping you would appreciate that I finally found something to do with all of my gold." His answer made her giggle, making him let out a soft chuckled himself.

He then took her hand and bowed towards her, over exaggerating the gentleman-like movement.

"May I have this dance?"

"You may" Belle smiled, taking his hand as he led her to the middle of the golden floor. Then as they both stepped into the middle of the ballroom, the instruments magically started to play a slow joyous tempo.

Her hand rested on his shoulder and his on her corset as they started to dance. They were soaked up in the contagious music and endlessly lost track of time.

"Of all things Rumplestiltskin, I would have never guessed you were a remarkable dancer." She spoke, gazing up into his brown dark eyes.

He smirked at her comment and swung her out, swooping her back into the comfort of his arms. Belle laughed at the dance move, awaiting until he would do that again. They swayed in the same rhythmic movements, her ball gown flowing and moving with each step they took.

"The food looks delicious." Belle observed, glancing over at the large table that held their feast.

Rumple chuckled at the attempt of small talk Belle tried to create. They didn't need words, they were tranced by the beat of the music and the swing of their step.

After a while of dancing, he brought up a more serious topic, finding that he was holding her tighter then when they had began.

"The other night you told us about your past, I know that wasn't easy so I thought you should know a little about me.. and my past."

"Rumple you don't have to-" Belle protested, keeping her arms tightly locked around his neck, forcing to stare up into the gleam of his eyes.

"I want to, Belle." His voice was as low as a whisper which made Belle rather light headed and dizzy. "I know you must be curious of how I used to be... before becoming the Dark One."

"I would be lying if I said I didn't." Belle admitted.

"If you wonder about Baelfire's mother, my previous wife, her name was Milah. After I failed to fight in the ogre wars, the town labelled me as a coward, and she later left me for another man, abandoning Bae in the process."

"I'm sorry" She spoke empathetically, her hand coming up to his cheek, briefly placing it gently on his rough reptilian skin.

The next look Belle gave him caused Rumplestiltskin to stop breathing all together.

"Not even my wife looked at me the way you are looking at me now." He whispered, their noses almost touching.

"Then your wife looked at you wrong." Belle stated bravely. She could feel her heart beating through the laces and material of her dress. Her hands then both moved up to his face slowly and the rare moment created a boost of courage in the Beauty.

The dancing had mostly stopped all together as they stood in the middle of the ballroom, her hands on his face and his hands still remained on the laces of her corset. In one swift movement, Belle pressed her soft lips against Rumplestiltskin's.

His mouth was surprisingly warm and gentle. She could tell he was tense at the sudden act of her boldness, but regardless kissed her back just as hard as she was kissing him.. Her lips locked tightly around his over and over again until Belle slowly parted away from him.

The Beauty then came a across a startling sight and gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"What's wrong?" He asked in alarm, confused by her expression.

"Your face- its changing." She stuttered, observing the transformation with awe and amazement.

Rumplestiltskin immediately looked at his hands which once reptilian, were now covered with pink human flesh. He let out a sound distressed panic and backed away from the Beauty instantly as though she had burned him.

"Belle, what have you done!?"

**Next Chapter: Rumple suffers the consequences of his curse being broken while Belle and Baelfire help him come to terms with the transformation. Will Rumple and Belle be able to continue their relationship? Or will he choose power over love?**


	14. Who Could Ever Love a Beast?

Belle brought her hands to her face, covering them over her mouth, gasping and staring helplessly in amazement at what had just occurred.

_His curse... Their kiss had..._

She watched as the greyish discolouration faded from his skin, replacing his once reptilian complexion with one of warm, humanly flesh. Rumplestiltskin swayed clumsily as if drunk, reaching out for an object to catch his balance with. He felt strange, a feeling which was indescribe to explain in words, he could feel his power leaving his body.

The Beast stared with horror at his outstretched hands, his pink fleshly hands that he had remembered so long ago.

"No..." He stumbled backwards away from her even further, tripping and tangling his legs over furniture until his backwards scramble eventually brought him up against the far wall.

Belle immediately tried to reach out to him, to comfort him, but what could she do? His curse was broken and there was nothing either one of them could do about it. Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One, the most powerful and fearful being in the entire Enchanted Forest was now human.

_And it was all because of her kiss._

Seconds felt like hours to Belle, she was desperate to reach out and comfort him, but she needed him to talk to her first.

"Rumple, say something" Belle pleaded, her throat clenched tensely awaiting the moment when he would respond to what had just happened. It felt as if her heart had been shoved down into her stomach, beating abnormally fast, anticipating any kind of response.

As the Beauty approached closer to the Beast, she could tell he was extremely disoriented and confused. He brought his own hands to his temples, sliding further and further down the wall when he legs started to give out. Belle slumped down beside him, stroking his hair back behind his ear so she could fully see his face.

"It's going to be alright, I promise." She spoke softly, moving her hands down to the top of his neck and then down to his back, resting her head supportively on his shoulder.

Her sudden touch caught his immediate attention. Rumplestiltskin turned to face Belle, a burning fire ignited in his eyes, an expression that resembled a twisted version of rage.

"How is this going to be alright?!" He snapped, making Belle lift her head away from his body, instantly backing away from him. The Beauty gulped at the intensity of his words and took a shaky breath in, afraid of what he would do next.

_What if he changed his mind? __What if he no longer desired to be with her?_

"Now you're free of your curse, we can be together- Me, you and Bae, we can be a family" She shyly smiled, her voice barely anything more than a faint whisper.

"I've lost my powers, I'm weak!" He instantly snapped at her words, making Belle jump back once more. "How am I suppose to protect you and Bae against Regina without my power?" Rumplestiltskin continued to sit sagged up against the wall, blood and hope draining from his now humanly pale cheeks.

"We'll find a way." She assured him.

"Oh Belle" He sighed feeling utterly defeated, his thoughts and mind so disfunctional that he could barely process a proper sentence. She couldn't stand to see him like this, in pain, so helpless and defeated.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, trying her best to soothe his on-going ramblings as she rubbed his hair lovingly.

"Sorry for what? Loving me?" His voice then became sarcastic and pitiful "I am sorry too, you were never meant to love a beast, Belle."

His reply caught her off guard, she then locked onto his gaze, really noticing his eyes, which had remained the same through the transformation.

"I'm not in love with a beast Rumple, I'm in love with a_ man_." She grazed the warm flush in his cheeks with the tips of her fingers, causing him to close his eyes from her gentle touch. The Beauty was right, though True Love's kiss had destroyed and stripped him of his powers, It only secured the fact that Belle loved him back.

"You will still be able to do magic, won't you?" She asked him, still caressing his messy tangled hair.

"I hope so." Rumplestiltskin spoke lowly, attempting to get up and walk, but immediately falling down due to his crippled injured leg.

"Here, lean on me." Belle demanded, draping his shoulder over hers, slowly standing up and walking him over to the nearest chair at the dining table. Belle released his shoulder from hers and assisted him to sit comfortably on the chair.

"That's quite enough." He hissed, pushing her away with both of his hands.

She breathed out, choking back tears from his hostility towards her, Rumplestiltskin's unpredictable constant mood swings were giving her whiplash.

"Are you upset with me?" She asked.

Rumple barely flinched at her question, shaking his head frantically back and forth.

"I should of never let this happen." He croaked, his voice returning harsh and cruel. His words felt like a blow to her heart, causing the tears to finally stream down her rosy cheeks.

"Do you regret our kiss?" She heard the sound of her own ragged voice ask the bold question. When Rumplestiltskin didn't reply to her question, it gave Belle all the answers she needed.

"I don't regret it." She confessed trying her best to keep the soothing conversation going, her gaze never leaving the sight of him.

"Of course you don't, perhaps this is what you wanted after all, to break the curse and have your perfect Prince Charming, but I'm going to have to disappoint you dearie." Then his tone and mood changed from irritated to full on anger.

"I never asked for this!" She shouted.

"But you wished it." He declared through his clenched teeth, pointing his black fingernails towards her.

"Rumple, please stop" The Beauty whispered trying to calm him down from his aggravated state. "I don't want to argue with you anymore."

There was something unstable in his mindset, she had noticed, he wasn't himself, his eyes were clouded over with fear and defencelessness_. _Suddenly Baelfire, having heard all the disturbing yelling, had come downstairs to check on what was going on. He saw his father pale and disoriented in his vulnerable state.

"What happened?" He asked urgently, immediately running towards his father, crouching down by his side of the dining chair. As he came closer the lighting hit Rumplestiltskin's face perfectly, reflecting on all the humanly features. "The curse is broken!" Bae outburst, a wide grin on his face.

"I guess we have me to blame for that." Belle growled under her breath.

"Why is that?" The boy seemed confused about what had just happened prior to his arrival.

"When I kissed your father, True Loves kiss broke his curse."

"You kissed?" Baelfire's smile lit up even more, staying near to his father but glancing up hopefully at the Beauty.

"When the curse broke, your father's dark magic was destroyed as well." She explained, avoiding further eye contact.

"What about your other magic, Papa? The magic in the east wing- in your laboratory?" He questioned.

Then Rumple's cheeks filled with colour as he sat himself up, his gaze fixed on Baelfire. His son was right. In his laboratory he had kept collections of magic, thousands of bottles that contained potions and various spells that he was saving for a rainy day.

_Lucky for him, that night seemed to be storming like a bitch._

"You're right Bae. One of those bottles may just do the trick to hide... this" He stared his body up and down, a look of pure disgust painted on his face.

"I'll go get them." Belle declared, but before she got the chance Rumplestiltskin interrupted her.

"You've done enough, don't you think?" His words struck her like a knife, wringed and twisted in her heart.

Belle then signalled to Baelfire to go fetch the magic from the east wing, then crouched down near to the chair where Rumplestiltskin sat, fighting her tears from coming down in front of him.

"The magic from your laboratory, will fix you."

"If it works." His voice was no more than a whisper, he seemed to mellow and relax despite what had just happened.

"It will." Belle gulped, pleading and praying that she would be right.

After what seemed to be forever, Baelfire returned with two large bottles of shimmering pink stuff flowing inside. He brought them towards his father and placed them carefully one by one on the table.

"Pour the potion onto me." Rumplestiltskin eagerly directed his son.

Bae popped off the cap and looked at Belle, upset and afraid of what were to happen next. The pink stuff dumped onto Rumplestiltskins shirt as his skin started to return to the scaly and greyish green appearance once more.

"This will be able to hide you from Regina and Gaston, they will have no idea that you human." Belle spoke, wanting to do nothing more than reassure him of his fears.

"We better hope not." He snapped. Then getting up, his crippled leg no longer restraining him, he could feel the magic working throughout his body. Rumplestiltskin walked around the room with a powerful strut testing out the durability of the bottled magic. He flicked his wrist like he normally had when casting a spell. A flow of black smoke appeared around his hand like a silver shimmering cloud.

"I still have a little magic left." He stated, completely focused on the magic he had just produced.

"True loves kiss didn't take all of it then?" Baelfire asked his father.

"No" he examined his hands carefully once more, brushing his fingertips over the rough green course of his forearm.

"I have other bottles that will allow me to regain most of my power, but until then I want to be left alone." The Beast harshly ordered to both Belle and Bae. Belle picked up the skirts of her gold ball gown and ran upstairs quickly before anymore tears were allowed to fall.

That night passed by slow. She wished that he would come into her room and sweep her off her feet and reassure that everything was going to be alright, even though she knew he wouldn't. It was just an allusion, a silly day dream to her. Belle had cost Rumplestiltskin the most valuable thing in his life, his power, and who knew if he would ever have it in his heart to forgive her.

**Hey everyone! Originally this and the next chapter were only suppose to be one but it got too long for my liking, so I decided to split them into two parts. So far I am estimating this story to be about 25-30 chapters long and will continue to do weekly updates. Thanks for reading and leaving all the kind positive reviews, I really do appreciate them :) Fill free to leave some more if you'd like and let me know what you think about the story so far!**

**Next Chapter: Belle and Rumple have a confrontation about their kiss, and Rumple decides to travel to Avonlea to pay Gaston a little visit without her knowing. Next update will be this Monday!**


	15. True Love

It had been two days.

Two whole days since Rumplestiltskin's curse had been broken and two whole days he still had not spoken a word to Belle.

She had spent a most of the time in her room, trying not to think of him, all she would get was disappointment when he didn't come. She feared that he would have her leave the Dark Castle, exiled and thrown out into the world alone.

Her blue eyes were dull and tired from lack of sleep, she had changed back into her blue peasant dress, eyeing down the golden gown which sat in her closet haunting her. Rumplestiltskin had needed time to think and process what had happened the other night, the Beauty told herself. Time would be able to heal everything.. wouldn't it?

All of a sudden the Beauty heard the door open and she instantly whipped her head around as if startled, to witness her 's heart nearly stopped when she saw who it was.

_Rumplestiltskin._

They met gaze on gaze for a few brief seconds, and from the sadness in his dark eyes, she could tell that he was just as hurt and agonized as she was from being away from the other.

"You look tired." He observed, strolling around her room, straightening a couple of books on her dresser, looking anywhere but on her face. Rumple seemed to walk normally, the magic had been successful, disguising him to look as the Dark One had looked before.

"I haven't been getting enough sleep." She replied lowly, trying to cover up her weak and croaking voice.

"Belle, the other night-" As Rumplestiltskin started to speak, Belle rose up from her uncomfortable position on the ground, fixing and brushing her curls away from her face in the process. Then in the particular light of the bedroom, he could tell Belle had been crying. Tears stained her once perfect rosy cheeks, while the rounds of her blue eyes were puffy and red.

And he had caused it to happen. All he wanted to do in that moment was to comfort her, like she had tried to do to him before he had harshly pushed her away. He wished that he could take back the terrible things he had said, but he couldn't.

"Some of the things I had said to you were uncalled for, they have been constantly torturing me for these last couple days." He admitted, walking towards her until they were face to face.

"I would dare say that torture is an understatement" she admitted dryly. "You were-"

"I know" Rumplestiltskin finished her sentence, wishing to not hear the names she would call him, well aware of his bastardly behavior he had displayed to her. "I should of never said those things to you, I know you didn't mean any of this to happen."

"Your right, this is the last thing I wanted to happen. But then again you're wrong."

"What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused at what the Beauty had just said.

"The other night you had said that I wished this would happen, for your curse to be broken and for you to be a man again." She answered, staring down at her feet with a type of embarrassment. "And you were right, deep in my heart I wanted that, for Baelfire, for me and even for you, Rumple."

"Even knowing its price, I don't regret our kiss." He spoke remembering the question Belle had asked him before, the question he had never responded to.

"You don't?" She repeated, her heart suddenly started to beat fast with hope.

He shook his head slowly, grabbing her soft hands in his. "I don't think I've ever wanted to do something as much in my entire life as I wanted to kiss you." His words made Belle feel lightheaded as a red blush formed on her bashful cheeks. His confession forced a smile on her pale lips as she gripped even tighter onto his hands.

"But you were so angry- I honestly thought you would throw me out of the castle-" She sputtered, letting out a silent sigh of relief.

"Belle, when you broke the curse, I was scared. I have made many enemies over the years and if they were to find out I am powerless- I wouldn't be able to protect you or Bae from them. I was nothing before becoming the Dark One, now magic has become a crutch that I cannot stand without."

Belle brought up her hand to his face.

"Perhaps you won't have to lose all of your power, the bottled magic will be able to return some of your power I'm sure."

Rumplestiltskin nodded, continuing to hold Belle tightly as she happily curled her self into his embrace, the top of her head snuggled beneath his chin. "We can finally be together now." she spoke, as he closed his eyes with bliss.

"Yes" He agreed, taking an inhale of her lovely smelling hair then opening his eyes to an immediate thought. "There is something I need to take care of first."

"Maybe you should rest." Belle interjected.

"I've been doing that plenty lately." He assured her.

"Just be careful alright?" Belle spoke, instantly moving back into his arms and snuggling into his neck. When they broke apart, Belle stood on her tip-toes and kissed him rather hard on the lips. Then as the Beauty opened her eyes, Rumplestiltskin was gone.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin with the bit of magic he had left, transported himself to the castle of Avonlea, Belle's previous home. The castle itself looked uncared for and dreary, due to the ruling of that arrogant brute, Lord Gaston. The bricks had fallen out of place and the shrubs were heavily grown over in the front entrance. However, it was not the beaten down scenery of the castle that had brought Rumplestiltskin there, no, he hadn't forgotten of the story Belle had told him. Her ex fiancé had abused her, shut her out of her own home, treated her terribly, and he finally needed to pay for it.

Gaston sat comfortably on the golden throne in the main room, bored as his hand was rested upon his thick chin as he let out a sigh.

"Bored now, are we dearie?" Rumplestiltskin mocked, his impish voice emerging from his speech.

Gaston instantly rose from his throne to get a closer look at the foreign intruder.

"You're.. the.." He stuttered, his green eyes growing wide with alarm.

"Dark One" Rumplestiltskin finished Gaston's sentence aware of the impact of fear that he held over the brute. Rumple walked with his usual cocky dominant stride. He played the part well, nobody would be able to tell that he was no longer under the influence of the dark curse, stripped of his powers.

"Why have you come? I've caused you no harm?" Gaston's deep voice echoed throughout the large room.

"Actually you have caused me offense on more than just one occasion." He accused and when Gaston stood silent at the Beast's intimidating presence, Rumple continued to speak.

"I am no fool, I know you are working with Regina against me, and whatever your planning won't work."

"You seem so sure." Gaston gave him a wicked smirk, which fueled the Beast's anger even more.

"You are yet to comprehend who exactly you are up against." Rumplestiltskin hissed.

"Perhaps it is you who do not comprehend who you are up against." Gaston spat back at him, while Rumple let out a high pitched childish giggle.

"Regina is many things dearie, but never an ally. She is toying with you, and once you have done all her dirty work, she will toss you out just like last nights garbage."

"You know nothing of our relationship." Gaston snapped back at him, his eyes burning with fire and hatred.

"I know more than you think, dearie. I have known Regina her entire life. How about next time you are with her, you ask her about_ Daniel_." He challenged the man that dared wear Belle's crown.

"Speaking of Regina, I am sure she has told you all about Belle. She now takes up residence in my castle, it is a lot roomier than the tower you locked her in, don't you think?"

Gaston then grew silent as the topic came up, backing away from Rumplestiltskin slowly with caution.

"You see, out of all the things you have done, what you did to Belle pisses me off the most. " He drew out his right hand directing it towards Gaston's thick neck, choking him. the true heir to the throne in which you sit leisurely upon- but your crown is not why I am here."

"Why then?" Gaston stood up, his breathing laboured, recovering from Rumplestiltskin's magic.

"As much as you may doubt it, I do not care for the crown of Avonlea." Rumple continued to linger around the room dominantly. "However, if you do so much as touch a single hair on Belle's head, I will kill you so fast that you wont even be cold in your grave, understand? Or is that too much to process in that tiny brain of yours?" The Beast threatened, holding a tight grip onto the front of Gaston's armour.

"Well, well, Regina is right, Beast has fallen in love with the Beauty. But don't worry I don't mind, I do not care much for sloppy seconds."

Then that's when Rumplestiltskin punched him. Without magic, without anything but anger and rage. His fist struck the brute's strong jaw, forcing Gaston cowering to the ground.

When Gaston drew is sword to fight back, Rumplestiltskin was gone, leaving nothing but fear and a bruised face.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin returned to the castle later that day, feeling better then he had in months. He strolled through the main hall with a confident strut, while Belle dusted the dining table in the room over. She came in hearing his entrance and placed her duster down on the nearby side table.

"Rumple, where have you been?" She asked, worried and distressed about where he had been. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to his bruised and red knuckles. She placed her hand on his arm and pulled up his sleeve to reveal the entire wound.

"What on earth did you do to your hand?" She gasped, gently running her hand over the swollen injury.

"Its fine, its just this magic heals slower." He stated, trying to cover his knuckles up once more from the Beauty.

"What did you do? How did you hurt your hand like that?"

"I went to Avonlea." He announced.

"And what? Punched a tree?" She laughed, still focused the wound, walking over to the nearby dresser and pulling out a thin soft cloth to wrap his hand in.

"Why were you in Avonlea? Belle asked, beginning to wrap the cloth carefully around Rumple's knuckles.

"I decided to pay your ex fiancé a little visit."

"You did what?" Her jaw nearly dropped with shock. "You're suppose to be laying low remember? Belle scolded him, continuing to bandage through his short gasps of pain when the cloth brushed over the bloody parts of the knuckles.

"I couldn't let that bastard go on feeling unthreatened-" He tried to smirk to get the Beauty's approval of his actions.

"He hurt you Belle, then upon my arrival he provoked me... so I punched him."

"Rumple-" She sighed, holding a hand to her face rubbing the outside of her temple, finishing tying the bandage.

"Gaston just a got under my skin." The Beast shrugged, obviously still smug with what had happened. He moved closer to Belle wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. "He needed to know that if he ever hurts you again he will have to go through me."

"I know you were only trying to protect me." She snuggled in the comfort of his arms. "And to be perfectly honest, I kind of like the idea of Gaston getting punched." Belle started to giggle as she kissed the side of his cheek. As the Beauty pulled back she saw that his skin had returned back to its humanly state.

"The magic is starting to wear off again." Belle informed, keeping her hands on his face.

"I must be careful with that, sometimes the magic wears of quicker then expected." He sighed, taking in deep breaths, briefly turning away from the Beauty.

"I love you either way, human or not." She reminded him. Rumplestiltskin smiled at her confession, no longer plagued by the thought of not having his powers if it meant that Belle was his.

"I love you too." He spoke, his face now revealed to be fully human. The Beast pulled the Beauty in against him and kissed her deeply, his hands rested on both sides of her flushed face. She provided the love and warmth he needed, and for the first time since having his curse broken, he finally felt as if everything would be alright, as long as they were together.

**Hey everyone! Not going to lie, last nights episode had me sobbing like a baby. It never fails to amaze me how emotional I can get during TV shows.. especially if it has a sad Rumbelle scene! :(**

**Next Chapter: Belle tries to take Rumple's mind off his broken curse, and a strange visitor shows up at the castle. Will Belle and Baelfire find out why they have been having the same nightmare? Thanks to everyone that has been reading and reviewing, it truly means a lot! So far I'm guessing this story is going to be around 30 chapters. Leave a review and let me know how you are liking the story so far! Thanks for reading!**


	16. The Future Is A Deceitful Thing

Belle awoke in the bright early morning next to Rumplestiltskin's warm body. She spent a few blissful moments at the edge of falling back asleep before she opened her bright blue eyes fully. Last night he been reading to her and she must have fallen asleep right there in his bed. Her eyelashes fluttered as she brought her lips up to his cheek and gently kissed his face, causing him to stir and wake as well. Belle's hair fell into her face as she did so.

"I could get used to this" Rumplestiltskin his voice no more then a tired whisper, brushing her curls away from her face and tucking them behind her ear. His scale-less face seemed smooth and soft, as did his hands. She looked at his changed appearance in wonder, resting her fingertips on his heated bashful cheeks. They had slept all night side by side, feeling nothing but pure comfort while his hot breath breathed down her exposed sensitive neck.

"How did you sleep?" His voice was deep and sleepy, which made Belle start to tremble at the alluring sound.

"I slept well, but you should of woken me up the minute I fell asleep last night" She scolded him.

"And why would I bring myself to do such a thing?" He raised an eyebrow, distracted from the sight of the Beauty, who was bundled up in his warm silk blankets in front of him.

"To make me sleep in my own bed." Belle explained, sitting herself up against the many assorted pillows amongst his large bed.

"You didn't like sleeping here?" He asked, his regular smug expression on his face.

"That's not the point." She tried to hide her grin, rolling over to his side of the bed getting wrapped once more in the warm sheets. "What's Baelfire going to think if he were to walk in and see this? He might get the wrong impression."

"And what impression is that?" Rumple whispered through his smile, fiddling playfully with the curled ends of her soft brown hair.

"For starters he might think that we were.. together last night... That type of stuff might traumatize that poor boy for life. Trust me, I know, I had to watch my father sleaze out of bed with his many mistresses throughout the years." She crinkled her nose with the old memories.

Rumplestiltskin cocked his head to the side, not daring to rip his gaze away from hers. When Belle initiated another kiss, he instantly obliged, both of them unable to get enough of each others warm sweet kisses. Her hand stroked the outline of his jaw as she made noises of contentment and pleasure. Suddenly, Rumple sighed and broke apart from her, their faces still fairly close from their previous contact.

"I still keep thinking I'm dreaming about all of this, about _you_" He confessed and at that comment, the Beauty blushed, a curve forming on her naturally red lips.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am afraid you're stuck with me." She teased playfully, snuggling into his side. Rumplestiltskin made a low humming noises of delight before kissing the top of her soft sweet head. The Beauty had liked cuddling with him more then she ever imagined, she craved the close intimate touch that only he could possibly satisfy.

Belle once again sat herself quickly, back to her own side of the bed and away from his embrace. "We better get up." She suggested, avoiding close contact, where he could easily lure her back into the comfort and allure of his kisses.

"Why?" He sounded like a whining child pouting, not getting their way in an argument.

"Because if I don't get up now, I fear I'll never be able to leave this bed." Belle declared, biting her lip between her white teeth blinking innocently at the Beast.

"Then don't." Rumple challenged her playfully. The Beauty sighed and grinned at his answer, wishing that he could accept his challenge and never leave his bed. Belle pecked him quickly on the cheek before getting up, making her way into her own chambers. She tip-toed across the hallway, hoping her presence would go unnoticed.

"What are you doing?"

Belle stopped and stared at the boy. He had just caught her leaving Rumplestiltskin's chambers and clearly he needed an explanation as to why exactly she was doing it, prowling down the hallways, sneaking back to her own room.

"I just fell asleep in there it's nothing, your father was reading me a story last night.." She then found it hard to speak and started to stutter.

"Of course" Bae replied, teasing the Beauty, signalling her to move along into her room to get changed. Her head looked down at the ground as she scratched the back of her head, quickly making her way down the rest of the long hall.

"Belle?" Baelfire called, while she immediately turned around to face him, catching her attention right away,

"Its alright if you and him.. I mean it makes me very happy actually.. You are the closest person I have to a mother-" His sentence became choppy and cluttered with several thoughts but Belle had understood his message right away.

She had Bae's blessing, to be with Rumplestiltskin, and that meant the world to her to hear it from him. The Beauty gave the boy a soft smile, feeling overwhelmed by joy as she strolled back to her room, humming a gentle tune.

* * *

Belle and Baelfire sat in the living room as Rumple spun at his wheel in the corner. Bae had laid out his various collections of sketch books and coloured pencils. They both sat with a blank sheet of paper in front of them, both busy in attempt to create their own individual artwork. Belle had managed to sneak a peek over at Baelfire's drawing, growling with frustration at her own childish pathetic drawing.

"Why is it that your horse actually looks like a horse, but mine looks like some sort of a species of troll?" The Beauty giggled, holding up her drawing to show him. Then all of a sudden a loud knock boomed against the large front door, interrupting their drawing time and startling both of them in the process. Rumplestiltskin stood up from his stool instantly upon hearing the noise and made his way towards the door to investigate the unwanted visitor.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Belle questioned wearily, clinging onto Rumple's arm for protection. He opened the door to reveal an old hooded woman, the bit of her face that wasn't covered from the black cloak was twisted and deformed, her eyes a haunting shade of blue. The sight of this startling figure only caused belle to hold onto Rumple tighter than she had before.

"State your business." Rumplestiltskin's voice was loud and demanding, the tone he had used often when she had first arrived at the castle.

"Just an old woman seeking some comfort for a few harmless hours."

"Then you've come to the wrong place-" he began to close the door on her while Belle stopped him. "I'm sure a couple hours of shelter would do no harm, Rumple." She have him a stern look and grasped onto his hand comfortably.

"I can repay you with fortunes, I'm a seer you see." The woman tried to further persuade the Beast to invite her inside of the castle.

"That isn't necessary, I've had my share of experience with seers." Rumple hissed at her, opening the door, allowing the mysterious old hag inside.

The old woman walked in rather slowly and sat in the living room by the warm burning fireplace. As a couple hours passed, Belle continued to dust around the room, humming happily as she went, alone asides the company of the old cloaked woman.

"You grew up in Avonlea, a royal by the looks of it." The woman stated.

"How did you know that?" Belle asked rather fascinated and somewhat creeped out by the abilities that this mysterious old ragged woman possessed. "I know a lot of things child, past, present and future. You also do not do chores like a regular servant would."

Then Belle shook her head, backing away from the conversation, she was not suppose to be talking to her, Rumple had specifically said that seers are dangerous creatures that were not to be trusted. Then before she could stop him Baelfire had entered the room and started to ask questions to the old cloaked woman.

"Can you really see the future?" He questioned, overly curious about the topic.

"No, Bae." Belle shook her head at him, trying to stop him from talking with the mysterious and shady woman, giving him looks of warning and disapproval.

"Ah yes, seers can see everything, even things that have not yet come to pass."The woman started to speak.

"Maybe she can tells us why we are having the same nightmare." He pleaded desperately to the Beauty, his brown eyes wide with wonder. "If you had the chance wouldn't you want to know? Aren't you at least a little bit curious as to why two people would share the exactly the same nightmare?"

Belle couldn't protest any further, Baelfire was right, the nightmares had been haunting the back of her mind, and before she had any more opportunity to stop him, he started to ask questions and continue to talk with the old woman in spite of his previous warnings.

"Well, we have been having these dreams-" he spoke his words carefully, instantly being shushed by the Beauty afterwards who still tried to obey Rumplestiltskin's advise. A grin formed on the wrinkled lips of the hag when Baelfire finished asking his question.

"Nightmares you say? And both of you have been having the exact same one?" She questioned both of them.

"Yes, about the same exact creature, is there any way of getting rid of them?"

"Get rid of them?" The old woman cackled with her deformed laugh. "My dear child, you can't get rid of your_ fate_."

"Fate?" Belle questioned, gently grabbing ahold of Bae's shoulders and pulling him against her protectively. "When two people have exactly the same nightmare, it only means one thing: that somehow your futures have been intertwined with one another." The old woman clarified.

"But what is that suppose to mean?" Belle questioned, looking for further explanation to this startling truth. "It could mean many things Belle, but what is clear that you two have to face this fate sometime in the near future."

Then an unsettling feeling shot through her body like frozen ice. Something was off about this old woman who had mysteriously shown up at the Dark Castle, then it hit her. "Wait" Belle stopped her mid sentence. "I never told you my name-"

The fortune teller seemed to be lost for words. "I'm a seer darling I know everything." She stammered.

Even through the old woman's explanation Belle still felt a disturbing feeling in her stomach. Then as Rumplestiltakin came downstairs he growled at the sight. Immediately he got in between Bae and the old woman."

"That's quite enough, I'm sure we have given you enough time to get back on your feet." He pushed her hastily out of the door. "I told you not to talk to her! Tricky creatures seers are they take advantage of vulnerability."

Then through the thickness of the entrance door they could hear the old woman start to chant.

"_Remember you cannot escape your fate, you will come head to head with that creature and when you do, there is no escape."_

Then like that, the old hag was gone from sight, leaving Baelfire pale and lightheaded from her visit.

"I won't let anything happen to you" Rumple reassured his son, rubbing his hand gently over the back of his shirt.

"Neither will I." Belle promised, leaning over to kiss the top of Bae's wavy brown curls.

* * *

The old hag had left the castle and made her way into the Dark Forest. A puff of purple smoke surrounded the cloaked dark figure, revealing the Evil Queen. It had been a clever disguise to get her into the Dark Castle, it had all been all too easy to trick them into thinking she was just a simple old woman. The monster that both Belle and Baelfire had seen was the one they were to unleash upon Rumplestiltskin.

She had stuck more fear into their hearts, Rumple would sacrifice anything for his true love or his son, and she would use that to her advantage. Now that Belle and Baelfire needed protection from the monster, Rumple would surely pay any price to guarantee that they both were safe. It was simple really, the creature that the spell would unleash would threaten them, and Rumple would foolishly sacrifice himself for the ones he loved. In the end, the Dark One's own loved ones would be his own undoing, and it was absolutely delicious to think about.

Regina had seen through her mirror that the Dark One's curse had been broken, she just had to see for herself. Now that she was certain that Rumplestiltskin was vulnerable and human, it was time to strike_._

_Oh Rumple, don't you know? Love is weakness._

Regina smiled wickedly to herself, looking back towards the Dark Castle. She would get everything she wanted soon, once her plan was set in motion.

It was time for Rumplestiltskin to die.

**Hey everyone! I know this chapter may be a little confusing since there was a lot of stuff going on, but I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the reviews and positive responses I have been getting from this story! Thanks for reading!**

**Next Chapter: Gaston and Regina get in a heated argument and something goes terribly wrong, meanwhile in the Dark Castle, Belle tries to seduce Rumplestiltskin. Hey everyone! **


	17. Calm Before the Storm

Regina traced the walls of the Avonlea castle in search for Gaston, her spell book tucked sturdily beneath her arm. She would soon have it all, the power, the death of her greatest enemy, all she had to do was cast the spell and set the plan in motion. The Queen found Gaston moping in his throne room, harassing the many servants who served there.

"It looks like you've been busy" She spoke sarcastically, her long slim black dress trailing along the marble floor as she strutted towards the throne, which Gaston sat upon prominently and comfortably.

"I was wondering when you would come visit, Regina." His voice sounded less than ecstatic to see her. She had been distant lately, going for nearly three weeks without seeing or speaking a single word to him. In the back of his spacious mind, this haunted Gaston's thoughts, maybe the Dark One had been right all along and Regina had just been using him.

"Speaking of visits-" His voice suddenly sounded shaky and uncertain "Rumplestiltskin decided to pay me one a few days ago, threatening me about Belle."

"I told you that Beast was in love with her" The Queen scoffed pursing her ruby red glittering lips. "I suppose he doesn't like anyone messing with his girl.. Especially when they lock her in a tower." She smirked, not paying much attention to Gaston's concern, slapping her spell book hard on the nearest surface with a loud thump. She flipped through the pages hastily to find the right page.

Then watching Regina, he recalled once more what the Dark One had said about her, questioning and challenging their relationship by the means of the name _Daniel._

_Daniel, was he a brother? A lover? Why did this unknown man mean so much to her? Why did the imp believe that name held so much power?_ Gaston's thoughts trailed endlessly in his mind like the never ending cycle of a spinning wheel.

"Who was Daniel?" He finally called out, speaking what was on his mind, impatiently awaiting her reaction.

Her expression was blank and unreadable and for the first time, the Queen turned around to face the direct of him. "What did you say?" her words came out slow at an uneven pace as she spoke them.

"Rumplestiltskin told me to bring up the name Daniel, that it would secure the fact that you were just using me."

Regina's eyes remained glassy, glazed over with memories of the stable boy that not so long ago was her true love, until her mother had killed him. "The name doesn't ring a bell." She lied, adjusting her position, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat, continuing to quickly flip through the spell book.

Gaston took a couple stumbled steps back his mouth open, knowing the Evil Queen's words were lies. Perhaps Rumplestiltskin had been right all along, she had lied to him before about their relationship, toyed with him, used him to do her dirty work, had Regina even loved him at all?

"We'll cast the spell today, I presume" He called out, no longer facing her.

"That was the original plan, but now that I think of it, I believe it would be wisest to postpone it for a while longer, just to make sure everything goes as planned."

"Why do you get to make that decision?" Gaston questioned with a low growl.

"Because I said so" Her words were harsh and icy, annoyed and irritated with all his constant questions.

"I think waiting is pointless, I would rather destroy the Dark One, sooner than later before he had time to retaliate against us." He grabbed her forearm strongly, gripping it painfully tight that made Regina nearly gasp for air.

"You take orders from me you brute!" She hissed angrily, attempting to release his grip on her arm.

"Not anymore your majesty." He flipped open the book with such force that it nearly flew off the table with his touch. Then instantly Regina lunged forwards to retrieve the book back, but was blocked by his large overly muscular frame.

"I'll cast this spell, then I can claim the victory over the Dark One myself" He sounded as if he were talking to himself rather than Regina.

"Don't be stupid" Regina warned "You are dealing with something you do not completely understand-"

"Oh, what I do understand is that all this time you have been using me-"

Regina rolled her eyes at his melodramatic insecurity about their relationship, he was idiotic to even consider to attempt to cast the curse by himself. Then out of the corner of her eyes she saw Gaston examine the page of the spell, bringing up his finger to trace the black inked writing.

_He wouldn't dare._

He start to mumble a chant, something Regina could not understand, obviously in a foreign ancient tongue. Blowing the black words right off the page, Gaston caused black magical smoke to swirl amongst the large room. It swirled in decorative circles before spreading around the room, making its way out the open castle window and down towards the village of Avonlea.

"Gaston what have you done!?" Regina nearly shrieked, her brown eyes opened wide with shock at his actions. "You were not equipped to cast that spell. Now I fear it cannot be controlled!" Her black done up hair blew as the curse began to grow even further.

"All magic comes with a price.." Gaston whispered, cupping her chin into his large hands. "In this case, you seem like a fair price" He grinned wickedly showing off his pearly white straight teeth. He grabbed the spell book in his hands, turning to another page and disappeared out of sight.

He had left her there. Gaston actually had the nerve to abandon her here to be killed as their curse sucked her soul out of her, as it would with the residence of Avonlea. That brute had taken her spell book with him too, the only hope of trying to undo the mess he had created. The Evil Queen let out a loud glass shattering screech of anger as she flicked her wrist, allowing herself to be transported back to her castle safely.

Then as Regina allowed herself to escape the terror, the thick dark purple smoke swallowed Avonlea whole, sucking the life out of it, covering it with nothing but infinite darkness.

* * *

Belle paced outside Rumple's door impatiently, waiting for him to get out of his laboratory. Her shoes clacked against the floor as she followed the patterns on the well decorated rugs with her feet, sighing then finally walking over the laboratory door and knocked quietly. It was a few moments before Rumplestiltskin opened the door and peered his head out to look who had disturbed him.

"Belle" A smile came on his face the moment he saw her, which made her suddenly receive an uncomfortable amount of butterflies in her stomach.

"I'm sorry to disturb you-" The Beauty stammered, fiddling with the ends of her curled brown hair. "I know you are probably busy with your potions- but I wanted to ask you something"

"And what is that, my dear?"

"I have something for you" She blushed, staring down at her shoes and straightening out her blue dress.

"A surprise?" He raised his brow at her.

"I suppose" The Beauty responded simply.

"What is it?" Rumple asked tilting his head to the side, rubbing his hand along the material of her soft dress.

"I told you it wouldn't be much of a surprise would it?" She jokingly scolded him, backing away so she was just out of his grasp. "Come to my chambers at sundown, and you may find out what it is" Belle grinned, batting her long eyelashes towards him, surprised at herself how confident she had sounded in spite of the nervous way she had felt. The rest of the day seemed to drag on, Rumplestiltskin remained in his laboratory while Belle puttered around the castle, playing with Bae and managing to squeeze in a few chores.

As the sky started to darken, she made her way up to her chambers, changing into the white laced bodice that lay in the large wardrobe. She cursed the fact that there were no mirrors in the castle, she had to depend on pity reflections in objects for a chance to look at herself. Recklessly, she untied the blue ribbon from her hair and shook her head, using her hand to brush through the tangles in her chestnut hair. Next, she scurried to the bathing room, powdering her nose and applying red lipstick to her lips. As she drew back her hand, the Beauty noticed that her hand was shaking.

She was nervous, extremely nervous. Belle excelled at many things but seduction hadn't been one of them. Scented candles were placed throughout the room on the shelves and dressers, lit luminously with a light flame.

The Beauty opened the curtains a little bit, gazing beyond the castles' outer walls to the mountains and the reddening crimson sky.

"Belle" Rumplestiltskin suddenly spoke from behind her, startling her as he entered the room. She straightened at once, observing his sudden presence, turning sharply to face her love with haste and poise. It was not quite sundown yet, but he stood at her door anyway.

Seeing her there, looking so flawless and absolutely perfect, took his breath away. He lowered his stare and controlled his expression to the point where the very stillness of his face betrayed him. Her hair was undone and flowed down in loose curls past her shoulders, her tiny waist defined by the lovely white bodice she wore. While his mesmerized gaze lay upon her, hers was on him as well.

He had looked more handsome, she had noticed when he possessed human flesh compared to the scaly grey complexion. He was wearing his usual outfit, his black leather jacket, incented with gold and red. The slight flush in his cheeks and the natural blush he displayed when she kissed him only made her want to kiss him even more than she had before.

"You can come in" Belle leaned back against the bedpost, her hands tucked behind her, showing the laced front of her white corset. She bit her lip as her breath quickened, watching him make his way over to her.

"What are you doing?" A thin smile formed on his lips.

Belle sighed, slouching back to her normal posture and took out the blue bow in the back of the bodice, which proved to be unnaturally tight and uncomfortable.

"I was trying to look _alluring_." Belle admitted, lifting up her chin as she watched his eyes move down her attire.

"You don't need to dress up like this to look alluring" He said, a slow smirk grew on his face, his hands tightening at her thin laced waist. "Is this why you lured me into your chambers tonight?

Belle shrugged her shoulders giving the matter some thought. "Maybe it is." She spoke confidently, lifting her hands upon his shoulders, standing up on her knees on the bed to match his own body. "I've never actually seduced anyone before." She confessed, laying another deep kiss upon his mouth. She liked they way it felt when his hands were on her waist.

As Belle continued to kiss him eagerly, she snuggled herself so close up to him that she was beneath him. Rumple then with laboured string of breaths, made some distance between himself as the Beauty, gently pushing her shoulders away.

"How could you want this?" He questioned, his voice a low whisper.

"I want _you_."

"Then you are a foolish girl-"

She shut him up by kissing him once more as she rolled on top of him. His breath became shallow as her hands traced down the side of his stomach with a smoothe gentle glide of her fingers.

"Baelfire's downstairs, he just started a painting, he should be well occupied for a few hours." She stated, biting her lip and batting her thick lashes on the flesh of his warm cheek.

Rumplestiltskin stared up at her as if she had just asked him to murder her, knowing exactly what Belle had just implied and what she desired.

"I won't do that to you." He protested, refusing to move any further which made Belle sit up straight and brush the stray hair out of her face.

"All those years living as a princess- with people basically crooning to get up my dress and now- when I actually want to be with someone, I sudden have contracted some sort of disease that makes you not want to touch me..." She breathed, tears almost forming in her dull blue eyes.

Oh how he hated it when she cried.

"Belle it's not that I don't want to.. Because trust me I do" Rumple tried to soothe the situation, petting her hair softly and bringing her into his shoulders.

"Then what's the problem, is it me?" Belle asked, frustrated.

"Yes" he admitted. "You're a beautiful princess, and I'm- I mean do you really wish to be _defiled_ by a monster?"

"You're not a monster" She protested angrily, running her hands over his shoulders, her arms wrapped around his neck. "And who says you are _defiling_ me?" Her mouth found its way to the side of his cheek.

Rumple gave her a long sigh, she was so irritatingly stubborn and headstrong sometimes. "I would not take your virtue away from you. My magic is unpredictable it runs off my feeling if you as I were to- I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." She kissed him softly again and it was getting harder and harder to deny her of what she desired. She kissed him again, the way she got most things her way by kissing him. "Lay with me." Belle whispered, leaning in for another embrace and he drew back after a couple of short pecks.

"Not tonight, love."

Belle threw her head back onto the soft pillow hard and growled with frustration.

"I'm doing this for you, Belle" He breathed "I am doing you a favour."

"That's hard to believe" she retorted, while he forcefully pulled her towards him, his forceful actions made her giggle with delight as they lay side by side, sliding underneath the covers. Belle knew that he was too stubborn and she would not get her way tonight, she would just have to try again until he would no longer be able to refuse her tempting offer.

He had left the room briefly after that to check on Bae downstairs and when he returned back, Belle was going to be ready. She pulled off the blankets off of her legs to reveal her smooth legs and white laced underwear. She perked up instantly in a seductive pose as he came back in, flaunting her behind, smirking into her pillow as she knew that he was staring at her.

Rumplestiltskin chuckled at her another amusing attempt at her seduction, moving towards her and covering her bare back with the sheets and placing a soft kiss on the top of her sweet smelling hair. He climbed onto the bed and tucked his legs behind hers comfortably, snuggling closely against her he closed his eyes. Belle closed her eyes too, and feeling an overwhelming amount of security and sudden drowsiness, she drifted off to sleep.

After awaking after an hour or so, the Beauty stretched her hand to the other side of the bed to feel nothing but the cold sheets. Rumplestiltskin must have gotten up while she had fallen into her sleepy haze. The blankets and pillows underneath her were warm and relaxing, causing Belle to let out a lion-like yawn, stretching herself amongst the large bed.

The bedroom door creaked open and Rumple walked in with a silver tray, the chipped cup placed in the center, steaming with hot tea. He placed it delicately on her night table and bent down to peck her on the cheek. Instantly after the kiss, Belle could tell that something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" She questioned, examining the pained expression on his face. Her heart suddenly started to beat fast with each second of silence when he did not reply, instead Rumplestiltskin sat down next to her on the bed, and held her hand tightly in his. He swallowed before looking up into her face and used his other hand to clasp the her other hand.

"Belle, I don't know how to tell you this, but Avonlea has been destroyed."

* * *

**Hey everyone! Thank you everyone for the follows and favourites it truly means a lot to me, I also love reading the reviews everyone has been posting and thoughts and ideas on the story. Leave another review if you feel like it and let me know what you think! :)**

**Next Chapter: Belle and Baelfire must confront their fate and stop the monster Gaston has unleashed from destroying the castle. Someone makes a selfless sacrifice out of love, which has a deadly consequence.**


	18. Blood of the Pure Hearted

"What do you mean Avonlea is destroyed?!" Belle snapped, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Jefferson has recently informed me that Regina has cast a curse, clearly to get back at me, and all magic comes with a price, in this case, the price was Avonlea." Rumple explained, careful not to upset her even further from the devastating news.

"A curse?" Belle sounded out the word hesitantly before looking up at Rumple for further explanation.

"A strong curse at that, she used her mother's spell book." He put an arm around her shoulders in attempt to comfort her, but even through his efforts, she continued to stare blankly into nothingness. His hand brushed though her hair as she breathed out slowly, using all of her strength not to let her tears fall.

"Regina is going to pay for this" she hissed angrily, imagining things that Rumple could do to her to make her suffer for all she had done.

He had never witnessed Belle this way before, Rumplestiltskin saw darkness and fire burn in her once bright blue eyes. The realization that her home- her old life had been destroyed, killed her inside, and he knew it.

"I can bet it wasn't just Regina, I am quite sure that Gaston had something to do with this as well." His voice growled at his name, picturing the smug look on the Brute's face if he were to succeed in this tedious plan. Whatever they had unleashed, whatever they had cast to come after him, he would be ready to protect Bae and Belle from it, no matter what the cost would be.

Then suddenly, from outside, a loud ear-piercing screech filled the air, followed by thunderous booming footsteps.

Rumplestiltskin gripped Belle's petite shoulders and stared seriously "I want you to go get Bae and hide upstairs." He pleaded with her desperately, begging that she would comply to his request and not argue.

"Rumple, what is happening? What exactly did Regina unleash?" the Beauty questioned concerned and frightened.

Another terrorizing roar shook the walls of the castle, the sound was so unbearably loud, that they both covered their hands over their ears. Then Belle realized that Rumple didn't need to answer her question, for her to understand what was going on.

_A monster, the curse had unleashed a horrific creature to torment and torture them. _Belle thought _and she__ needed to find Baelfire before anything else did._

She sprinted to Bae's chambers, following Rumplestiltskin's instructions, clumsily knocking over decorations as she ran. Walking into his room, the Beauty found him behind the door hiding, scared of the thunderous noises that sounded from outside the walls.

She took his hand and informed him of what was going on, trying to do her best to assure him that everything would be alright, though she wasn't so convinced herself.

As they made their way down the staircase, through the large glass windows, they caught glances of the horrid creature that plagued the castle. A black scaled shadow flew carelessly over their home, it's batted wings spread out revealing the rips and marks on its mangled shadowed body. She shuddered at the noises it made, mimicking the exact same call it had done in her nightmare.

They ran for cover, through the small narrow halls, zigzagging around various obstacles to get to the main hall, to get to Rumplestiltskin.

When they finally found Rumple, Belle called his name out desperately to get his attention. Just as he turned around, the jet black dragon crashed into parts of the roof, forcing the heavy bricks and falling debris to destroy anything that was unfortunate enough to be underneath it. Belle immediately grabbed Baelfire and covered his face as the impact caused the whole room to shake uncontrollably.

"How can we stop this thing?" She asked, still completely out of breath from running.

Rumplestiltskin seemed to hesitate at her question for a couple seconds, then regaining his thoughts, an idea struck his mind. "I have a potion that may allow me to paralyze it for a few hours- but it's down in the basement."

"Then we don't have any time to lose, one of us must get it" she stated, exchanging glances with both of the boys.

"I'll get it" Bae spoke up bravely.

Belle looked up at Rumple following his sons bold statement. Rumple nodded at his sons idea and tapped Bae on the back, gently pushing him in the direction towards the basement.

"Be careful!" Belle cautioned him, and in return she received a slight nod from the boy as he disappeared.

Baelfire would retrieve the potion and Rumple would be able to use it to contain the monster. Now she must do her part, out of all the available positions, only one stuck in her mind: she was the distraction, and she needed to find something to defend them against the creature.

Coming up with a bright idea, Belle sprinted, faster then she ever believed she was capable of, into Rumplestiltskin's laboratory. There he kept various potions and magic items that could be of use to her. She navigated her way through the dark room, reaching out her hands and searched for anything that could help, her blue eyes then locked on his glass cabinet filled with all different kinds of coloured potions.

_"Sorry Rumple" _she thought before ramming her elbow into it, breaking and shattering the glass into thousands of little pieces.

She carefully picked out three different potion bottles, tucking them in her arms, she ran back to the main hall, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Right as she walked in, she saw Bae had returned already, the specific bottle in his hand, handing it over to his father to hold. Both of them, Belle had noticed, were staring up fearfully at the weak creaking ceiling. She only started to understand what the two of them were looking at until cracking and breaking noises sounded above her, and the whole roof above them gave out. It crashed violently, shaking the ground on its heavy impact, forcing bricks and debris to scatter around the room messily.

As the dust cleared, it revealed a dark figure lurking amongst the broken pieces of the destroyed roof, it's dark scaled body lay on the hard wooden floor. The creature slowly got up, unwinding it's batted wings and spreading them out wide, letting out a loud hiss. They all froze in the presence of the monster which looked directly at Bae and Rumple with its poisonous, bloody eyes.

Belle felt as if everything had gone into slow motion, though the creatures call was loud, she could swear it was overpowered by the sound of her own heart beating. Out of the corner of her eye, she witnessed Rumplestiltskin draw his sword directing it towards the creature.

Unable to watch her love confront the monster himself, she impulsively threw one of the potions, striking the creature in the center of its belly. It created a spark, causing the thing to let out a low sound of pain and whip it's long neck around to turn to face it's new enemy. As it turned towards her angrily, she noticed that the creature hadn't strayed far from looking like a dragon, it's long facial structure was host to thousands of daggering teeth.

"Take that!" Belle threw another bright green coloured bottle. Her smile of brief triumph turned into an immediate grimace, as she watch in horror as the dragon grew twice its original size.

"You've got to be kidding me" she whispered under her breath, her eyes growing wide with terror.

"Rumple, I told you that you should label those damn potions!" She yelled, now standing pathetically in the shadow of the creature. The black scaled dragon screeched and with the flick of its tail, knocked Rumplestiltskin out of the way forcing him to the ground unconscious. It had once again changed it's direction completely, paying little attention to the Beauty, its eyes fixed on the brown headed young boy.

Belle gasped as the monster lunged itself at Baelfire, its long teeth snapped vigorously as it drew closer to him. Bae let out a terrified whimper, searching for something in the shattered room that could be used for self defense.

Belle's heart sank at the sight, she wouldn't let anything happen to him, she couldn't. She had remembered the first time she had met Bae, so curious about the ways of the world, constantly worried about his father, a boy who loved stories and drawing, a boy who was only fourteen.

_ A boy who was about to get his life taken away from him._

This was it, the nightmare, she had never slept long enough to see the ending. Their fates were intertwined because the monster would kill Bae if Belle continued to stand by and watch his fate. His life was in her hands now, and she wouldn't dare let anything happen to him.

Then in a split second, the Beauty lunged between Baelfire and the black hissing dragon, pushing Bae out of the way and coming face to face herself with the creature's terrifying presence. She stood there, feeling its hot murderous breath steam out of its mouth. Belle shut her eyes and drew in a weary breath. In her dream, the monster had stared at her the same way, with its red eyes glared ravenously with hunger and bloodlust. However, as much as she resented it, this was no dream and the dragon's jaw was unsettlingly close to her arm, while she attempted to prepare another potion bottle to throw.

Before she had the chance to make a move the dragon lunged and bit her. It wrapped it's strong jaws around her arm, sinking its venom into her bloodstream, forcing a loud painful scream from her lips. She felt every inch of her delicate flesh rip and tear at the monster's sharp teeth. The unbearable pain caused Belle to yelp once again, its jaws going deeper into her skin.

Suddenly something had caused the monster to loosen its grip, just enough space for Belle to pry her arm out of its mouth. When she saw Rumplestiltskin she felt an overwhelming amount of relief, as he popped the cap off the potion Bae had retrieved from the basement and poured it onto the creature's back scales, immediately paralyzing and binding it with magic.

Belle glanced down to her arm and saw nothing but streaks and puddles of thick dripping blood. She instantly wrapped her other hand around the large wound and held it tightly, providing pressure to stop the bleeding. A large lump at formed in her throat, making breathing rather difficult.

Rumplestiltskin ran to Belle, staring helplessly at her wound. The scar started up her forearm and made its way up her should and arm. Blood dripped down her blue dress, staining and marking it with its red crimson drops.

"Belle.."

"I'm fine" she continued to hold her arm through her silent sobs, half her body drenched with her own blood. Her face had lost all its colour, instead of the normal dabble of blush on her cheeks, her skin became pure white with a hint of dark grey.

Rumplestiltskin waved his hand steadily over the cut and watched as it closed, leaving behind a dark red sealed scar. As she got up, she stumbled her steps, fumbling back into his grip.

"You're light headed and you've lost a lot of blood-" he spoke as he caught her, he noticed the puddle of blood that had formed on the floor.

"I'm usually always light headed when I'm around you, Rumple, I should be used to being dizzy" she batted her eyelashes, bashfully looking at her feet, a faint smile on her lips. His heart nearly melted at her words, wanting to do nothing but hold her and never let go. She had willingly sacrificed herself for Baelfire, she was willing to confront that monster to protect him, and that made him love her even more than he had before.

Then sudden Belle felt something crush into her side, arms wrapping around her shoulders tightly. "You saved me" Bae thanked tearfully, his head resting on hers.

"I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Bae" She spoke, relieved that he was safe, relieved that they all were safe now.

"That was the bravest thing I have ever seen." Baelfire said in awe, which made Belle blush a little.

"It was nothing really, it was your father who actually detained the creature" Belle turned to Rumplestiltskin, reaching out her hand to him, which he happily accepted and joined in on the group embrace. All three of them stood there, staring at the dragon-like creature, its eyes shut in defeat, paralyzed by one of Rumplestiltskin's potions.

"What do we do now.. with _it?" _Belle questioned, still eyeing the creature skeptically.

"For now we shall keep it in the dungeon, it will not be able to escape down there" Rumple responded.

She nodded at his reply, pushing her long hair out of her face and tying it back into a ponytail, securing it with her dark navy ribbon. He kissed her on the cheek and gently let go of her hand.

"Go make sure Baelfire gets to bed alright" He spoke softly so his son wouldn't be able to hear. "I'll clean this mess up and repair the damage that Regina has caused" Rumple sounded slightly irritated, gazing around at the clutter of debris on the ground that used to be his roof.

As he watched Bae and Belle make their way upstairs, there was only one thing on his mind. Though he was not as powerful as he had been before the Dark One curse had been broken, he was gaining power everyday, and there was one thing he was certain of:

He was going to make Regina suffer for this.

* * *

Belle returned to her own room after making sure Bae was alright. He was still shaken up over what had happened, but he kept lighting up whenever he retold the story how she had saved his life.

Rumplestiltskin had fixed the roof of the castle, her chambers were restored back to the way they originally were. Belle sat on her bed, she had changed out of her blue dress and put on a clean nightgown, she had allowed herself to be cleaned up and ready for bed.

"How's your arm?" Rumple asked, slowly coming into the room, closing the door silently behind him.

"It's feeling better I suppose, it feels rather strange, and I doubt the blood stains will come out of my blue dress you made me."

"My beautiful Belle," he cupped her face tenderly, tracing the line of her defined jaw. "You nearly bled to death today protecting Bae, and all your worried about is if the blood will come out of your dress."

She shrugged her shoulders and looked up at him. "I'm very fond of this dress, you know"

"I can make you another, a more extravagant one- any colour you would like-" He proposed, raising his eyebrows at her with a smirk on his face.

"It won't be the same... this one was special" She mumbled.

"Then perhaps this will suffice" He raised his hand over the bottom of the blue dress, magically removing the terrible blood stains that splattered on the skirt. Her face instantly lit up with delight as her dress became as good as new. Belle ran her hand over the spots were the stains used to be, grinning widely with satisfaction.

Folding the dress and placing it aside, she moved up on her knees to kiss him.

"You scared me today" Rumple confessed, which made Belle a little confused.

"Scared you? How did I manage to scare one of the most fearsome men in the entire Enchanted Forest?" the Beauty teased, nipping playfully at his lips, nuzzling her head against his.

"When I saw you like that.. bleeding from the bite- I just don't know what I would do if I ever lost you, Belle"

"You will never have to find out" she gulped, briefly glancing down at her wound. He had wrapped it up nicely for her in a soft fabric, completing the top of it with a tiny bow.

Belle lifted herself up again to kiss him, a clumsy mess of a kiss, but Rumplestiltskin seemed excited by it so she did it again, her hands going to his back and then, as low as she could reach and finding bare skin. She urged him to her as he got ontop of her, pinning her on the bed which got him soft giggles from Belle.

"I love you" He whispered, tilting her chin upwards to look at him directly. Belle felt her heart flutter and smiled, answering him with a wet hard kiss, directing his mouth to move from her lips to her shoulders. He gasped, attempting to catch his breath and untied her blue ribbon, allowing her hair to flow freely down past her shoulders in loose perfect ringlets. He was heavier than she was, she felt all his weight on top of her, but she didn't mind, she enjoyed the intimate touch of him, the closeness and it made her world spin.

Piece by piece she subtlety took off her dress, eventually leaving her in nothing but her laced snow white bodice. He too, had removed his jacket and placed it on the edge of the bed frame with care. He need to be close to her, show her how much he really loved her. She pulled his hands close and placed them firmly on her waist, shivering when his hot breath crept down her neck.

Each inch that he pulled from her remaining clothing revealed another inch of her pale, porcelain skin and he found himself mesmerized by the sheer beauty of its glow. His right hand glided over her flat stomach, smoothing over her hips while the other continued to remove the troublesome clothing from her skin. She helped him, brushing her soft hands over his.

Belle had expected him to pull away as he did before, but to her utmost delight he didn't. She found her mind wandering to her fears, she had never done this before, he had of course, with other women before her. Belle sat up abruptly and then ran a hand through her tangled chestnut hair.

"What if I'm not good at it" she spoke, blurting out what was on her mind.

Knowing exactly what Belle was referring to, Rumple started to chuckle at her sudden outburst of worry.

"Why are you laughing at me? I'm serious!" the Beauty spoke, a trace of laughter rolled off her tongue as she tried to argue.

"Belle, I can guarantee you won't be bad at it" he moved to kiss her again, adoring her innocence in every way possible.

Belle straightened up and then confidently removed her bodice, making herself completely bare now, leaving Rumplestiltskin breathless at the sight. She placed his hands on her chest and buried him close into an embrace. They slumped back down onto the bed harmoniously and made their way under the covers, undisturbed as they passionately joined as one, creating such an intimate feeling that only true love could provide.

* * *

Belle woke up in the middle of the night, sweating terribly. Rumplestiltskin's arms remained wrapped around her waist and his nose tucked into the back of her hair. She sat and propped herself up in a comfortable position, rubbing her temple with her fingers, a headache burning through her skull. Rumple stirred in the bed, acknowledging that she had awaken, and she heard his tired rasping voice calling out to make sure she was alright.

"Everything alright, love?" He questioned, reaching for her. "Are you hungry?" He instantly became attentive to her needs. "I can fix you something to eat, a whole feast if you desired-"

"A feast would be lovely, but I think I would prefer a hot bath" Belle admitted, feeling the sweat on the edge of her lower back. As she crept out of bed, she planted a kiss on his cheek, and freed herself from his company, then locating her silky bathing towel, she headed towards the bathroom.

Belle drew her bath, filling it with steaming hot water, she grazed the surface of the water with the tip of her toes, sending a shiver down her spine. Slowly and carefully, the Beauty lowered herself into the tub bit by bit, letting out a sigh of relaxation. Her satisfaction was interrupted, however, when she felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm, causing her to let out a gasp of discomfort.

The hot water burned her scar to the point where Belle thought she would yell aloud in pain. She bit her tongue and sunk deeper into the bath, fighting the terrible stinging sensation, allowing her head to go all the way underneath the water. When she resurfaced, she opening her eyes and glanced down at the rest of her body, which was drenched in the colour of deep red.

_Blood_. _She was drenched in blood_. Her whole body was surrounded in it, filling up the volume of the porcelain tub, _she was bathing in it!_

Belle screamed with terror and jumped out of the deep tub, hitting her body along the sides, desperate to get out. Her high pitched scream instantly caught attention from Rumplestiltskin, who rushed into the room within a blink of an eye to see what was going on.

"Belle! What's the matter dear?" He called, moving towards her and helped cover her body up with a towel.

"The water-" She stuttered with panic "the-the blood- I was bathing in blood!" She cried helplessly, sobbing and stammering, wiping the perimeter of her body with the sheet he had given her.

Rumple peered into the bathtub cautiously to see nothing but crystal clear water smashing against the edges, still disturbed from Belle's current distress.

"Love, the water is fine, there is no blood" his tone became worried and concerned at her strange reaction.

Regardless of his reassurance, Belle continued to cling onto him, refusing to go anywhere near the water, her breathing ragged and uneasy. Rumple walked back into her to her room and handed her another one of her laced nightgowns.

"It's probably from the lack of sleep, you went through something very traumatic, Belle" He rubbed her back, making sure she was alright.

Belle slipped on the nightgown with a weary sigh, still warm from the hot water, and shaky from the terrifying hallucination she had experienced. Rumple kissed her on the forehead and tucked her back into bed, placing a montage of pillows behind her head.

Once he had disappeared out of sight, she uncovered the sheets around her wound to take another look close at it. The sight of it took her breath away, the venomous scar had spread, not just on her arm now, but down her hand and a little towards the tip of her shoulders. She gasped at the discovery, covering her mouth with her pale hands.

_What was happening to her?_

**Hey everyone! I decided that it would be better to keep it PG-13 instead of going full out on their "sex scene". I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it turned out to be really, really long, but I thought I should just keep it one chapter instead of splitting it into two parts. Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows! It honestly makes my day to read what you all think:) Leave another if you feel up to it, and as always, thanks for reading! **

**Next Chapter: Rumplestiltskin becomes worried about Belle's condition as she continues to get worse, Regina proposes a deal that Rumple might not be able to refuse. **


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